No Reason
by forever-x-young
Summary: Emery and Jay have been best friends since they were kids and have been to tell each other everything but when Jay hits it big he forgets his past and lives for the day. Updated on Dec 1, 2008.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the film "LOD." I do own the original characters though (Yessssss)_

**Chapter 1**

Emery was working at the lamp-making sweatshop with Philaine. She was fiddling with a piece of the lamp. She couldn't quite figure out how exactly that piece would help the lamp. It looked like a broken piece of metal or something. Emery sighed kind of loudly which made Ted, the manager of the sweatshop, walk over to the table and make sure they were working hard at putting together the lamps. "Emery, remember without lamps," he began.

"There would be no light in the houses," she finished for him and looked up at his face. "I know that but I just don't understand why we have to put them together. I mean technically it's not lamps that put lights in the houses it's electricity," she smiled big like a little girl. Ted shook his head.

"Get back to work please," Ted kept on walking to his office. Philaine looked up at Emery and smiled.

"You know you could tell him more information. I don't think he is well informed about the outside world," Philaine nodded her head as she put together the lamp. Emery laughed.

"One day, don't worry I will," Emery looked at her and went back to putting together the lamp. She finally figured out what the hell that piece was but unfortunately she felt someone come up behind her and pinched her hips. She jumped up and turned around to see Jay laughing. "Asshole," she shot him a glare with her brown eyes and sat back down on her stool.

"Thanks sweetheart," Jay kissed her cheek. "Hey mom," he walked over to Philaine and kissed her cheek as well. He pulled up a stool at the end of the table and sat down. "So what's up ladies?" he asked and glanced at them.

"Putting together these shitty lamps," Emery announced and put down her lamp to look at Jay.

"Well glad to know you have a positive attitude," Jay acted like he was proud of her and pinched her cheek. She smacked his hand away and smiled. Jay rubbed his hand and glared at her. He tried to pinch her cheek again but instead knocked over some of the lamp pieces off the table onto the floor making some of them shatter. "Oh shit," he exclaimed and got down on his knees starting to pick up the pieces. Ted came rushing out of the office.

"What the hell happened," he practically screamed and looked at Emery. "Do you have any idea how much these pieces cost? Do you?" he was now screaming for everyone to hear. Everyone stopped working to look who was getting on Ted's bad side. Emery opened her mouth to answer. "No you don't! They cost more than your damn paycheck that's how much they cost. I can't believe you could be so stupid Emery," he glared at her. "Do you know how much it is going to cost to replace these, do you? I don't think you know. So I suggest you be more fuckin' careful," he ranted waving his index finger in her face.

"Hey man it wasn't her fuckin' fault," Jay stood up and glared at Ted.

"Ah Phil's boy," Ted crossed his arms. "You don't work here so I suggest you leave now," he stormed off to his office slamming the door behind him. He called the company to ship more parts. Emery locked eyes with Jay.

"If I had my skateboard that guy would definitely be regretting yelling at you," Jay nodded. "I swear," Emery rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Did you get the medicine for my mom?" Emery asked as she tucked a piece of Jay's hair behind his ear.

"Oh yeah, they said it would cost 38," Jay sat back down. "And all you gave me was 20…so…," he looked down not wanting to finish his sentence. He knew Emery had a hard time paying off the medication and didn't need to know that she still couldn't afford it. Emery nodded and looked down at her lamp.

"Well…I'm going home already. My mom needs me. Tell Ted to fuck off for me," Emery smiled at Philaine.

"I will," Philaine smiled back as Emery went to punch out and to go home. Philaine looked at Jay and sighed. "Poor girl, I wish I could pay for that medicine. God knows Loren needs that," Philaine continued to put together the lamp. Jay looked at his mom at work.

"I'm going to become famous and make enough money to get you out of this shit-hole," Jay bit his lip and glanced up at his mother quickly and returned to survey his mother's hands putting together a lamp. Philaine stopped and looked at her son.

"I love you," Philaine kissed his forehead. "Go home before Ted comes back," Jay nodded and got up. He kissed his mom's cheek and headed out taking one last glance over at his mother.

: Emery's Apartment :

Emery unlocked the door to her apartment and pushed open the door. Her mother, Loren, was sitting on the couch watching some old TV show. "Hey sweetie," she coughed and covered her mouth with a tissue. Emery smiled and plopped down next to her mother.

"Hey mom," she kissed her mom's cheek. "So how are you today?" Emery leaned back against the couch and pulled her legs up against her chest. She turned her attention to her mother. Loren looked back at her.

"Well I got the light bill and phone bill," she said and reached over to the coffee table lifting up the two envelopes.

"You mean I got the bills," Emery corrected. She hated her mother worrying about anything so she didn't want her mom reading the bills or anything like that. She took the envelopes from her and opened the light bill first.

"Baby, I don't mind paying," her mother ran her hand over her daughter's hair and brushed it with her fingers. Emery shook her head. She read the statement and it said 74.65. "I really don't," her mother said again.

"Mom," Emery looked at her. "Don't worry I'll take care of it," she smiled and shoved the bills into her messenger bag. "I'm going to go get something to eat. Want anything?" Emery headed to the door.

"Whatever you get is fine," her mom turned back to the TV. Emery nodded and opened to the door.

"Boo," Jay shrieked and began laughing. Emery jumped back. "Two times in a row. I'm on a damn good luck streak," Jay peaked inside. "Hey Loren," he smiled at her.

"Hey Jay," Loren waved at him. Jay waved back and stepped outside. Emery walked out and closed the door behind her. She then locked the door.

"So where are you off to?" Jay followed her down the stairs. "Off to go murder someone?" he walked beside her.

"Yeah," Emery nodded and looked at him. "Why don't we go into a dark alley and just talk…," she spoke softly like she was hiding something. Jay threw down his skateboard and got on. He pushed off and was going slow so he could keep up with Emery.

"Yeah let's," Jay spoke in the same tone of voice. He grinned and looked at her. When they got to Seal Beach, Jay picked up his skateboard and followed Emery inside. Stacy and Tony were in there buying food. Emery walked over to Stacy and stood beside him.

"Hey Emery," Stacy smiled at her. "Here to get food for your mom," he asked as he took out his wallet. Tony grabbed his food since Stacy was paying and headed out. Jay followed Tony outside grabbing a bag of chips on the way. Emery nodded and looked at him. "Well what do you want?" he asked. "I'll buy it for you," he smiled, "My treat. Consider it a 'thanks' for being a cool friend." Emery laughed.

"It's cool Stac. I have some money," she reassured him and took out a 5 dollar bill from her pocket. Stacy smiled and turned to the guy at the counter.

"I'll take two more burgers and two more fries," Stacy told the guy at the counter. Stacy paid and gave Emery the bag and just took his food out.

"Thanks Stac," she smiled and took a fry from him when they were heading out.

"Okay I bought you food but that doesn't mean you can take mine," Stacy grinned at her and opened the door for her.

"Really?" Emery asked sarcastically and headed out. She took another fry and headed over to where Tony and Jay were. She stood against the wall next to Tony. Tony glanced at her.

"How's your mom," Tony asked taking a bite out of his taco and jugging his coke down.

"She's the same," Emery shrugged, "and hungry," she smiled and held up the bag with grease seeping through. Stacy leaned against the wall next to Emery eating his burger. Tony nodded. Emery looked down. "Well guys I'll see you tomorrow, if I don't, it cause I have to work," Emery stood up straight.

"All right," Tony nodded. "Oh wait here," he shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a 10 dollar bill. "For the medicine for your mom, don't worry about paying me back. I took it from my dad," Tony smirked and took another bite out his taco. "Don't turn it down. I won't accept it back," he raised his eyebrows. Emery smiled and hugged him trying to fight back the tears.

"Thanks Tony," she put the money in her pocket. "Bye Stacy and thanks," she kissed his cheek. Stacy kind of blushed. "I'll see you later Jay," Emery pushed Jay playfully nearly knocking him down. The guys continued eating.

"So Stac you got a thing for Emery," Tony inquired as he tossed his trash under the car in front of him. He wiped his hands on his jeans and waited for Stacy to respond.

"I'm not answering that," Stacy shook his head and did the same thing as Tony but hit the car setting off the alarm.

"Nice going Stacy," Jay grabbed his skateboard as did Tony. They ran to Stacy's car and jumped in. Stacy took off in a direction to get away before the owner came out and started ranting at them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Stacy pulled up next to the P.O.P. Pier. The guys piled out of Stacy's car and stood in front of it. Sid was out trying to surf the waves. Jay sat down on the hood of the car. "Damn Jay if you leave a dent, you're paying for it," Stacy glared over at Jay. Jay rolled his eyes at him and stared out at the ocean watching Sid attempting to catch a wave but ended up just screwing up.

"So Peralta answer my question," Tony repeated crossing his arms and watching Sid.

"I'm not answering the stupid question," Stacy shook his head. "It's none of your business anyway," he pointed out as he jingled the keys in his hand. "Even if I did what would it mean to you?" Stacy stopped jingling the keys and just shoved them in his pocket. He waited for Tony to answer his question. "Well Tony?"

"I'm just asking Stacy," Tony answered as if he was offended. He picked up a shell and threw it. He really didn't care where it landed. He picked up another shell and threw it further than the first one. "I mean 'cause…I don't have to answer to you Peralta,"

"Oh then I don't have to answer to you Alva," Stacy said simply and sighed. He looked at his watch. Then back at Sid.

"Stacy, answer the question," Jay said in a low tone of voice almost like he was trying to say it in a whisper. He leaned back to rest his back on the windshield and glanced at Stacy. Stacy was looking straight at him and opened his mouth to answer.

"Hey guys," Sid walked over to them with his surfboard under his right arm and using his left hand to brush the hair out of his face.

"Hey Sid," Tony nudged his head at Sid. He grabbed Sid's surfboard and examined it.

"Careful TA," Sid warned but didn't put much force in his voice. Sid didn't want to get on any of his _friends'_ bad side. Tony just gave Sid a grin and kept on examining the surfboard knowing that it must've cost a really pretty penny. "So how's it going," he turned his attention to Stacy and Jay. Jay looked relaxed; he had his hands resting on his stomach. Stacy looked a little more tense, he had his arms crossed and was resting his back against the side of the car.

"Not much, trying to get Stacy to answer a question," Jay smirked and carelessly looked over at Stacy. Stacy looked down at his shoes which were covered with sand now. Sid turned to Stacy thinking it was just a joke. "Answer man," Jay leaned forward and put his feet on the bumper of the car and rested his elbows on his knees.

"I have to go," Stacy finally gave up trying to stand his ground. He felt like he could never win with Jay, it was a useless battle that didn't need to be fought. Tony was easier; all someone had to do was attack his pride and Tony would step down. "You guys can come," he said softly hoping they would say no. He took the keys from his pocket and slipped the key into the key hole of the door. Jay jumped off the car and stood next to Sid.

"Come on Stacy it's just a fuckin' question," Jay knew he had Stacy pinned to a corner. Stacy shook his head.

"What's it to you Jay? Are you going to beat me up or are you going to be like whatever? Huh?" Stacy finally attempted to stand up for himself. Jay shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. Tony and Sid stared at Jay since he had said nothing and Jay isn't the one to not say anything when he feels like he is being attacked. "Okay then just drop it," Stacy got into his car and drove off.

"Jay," Sid reached to touch his shoulder. Jay moved and just started walking away. He didn't understand why he was feeling like he had just got beaten up. He felt weird inside. He headed to his apartment.

: Jay's Apartment :

Jay unlocked the door and walked in to see a normal scene for him, people dancing with a beer in their hands and a cigarette in the other. He walked over to his mom "Hey mom," he kissed her cheek.

"Hey baby," Philaine answered. Anyone could tell she was drunk. She kissed Jay's forehead. "How was your day?" she asked as she got up well attempted to get up. Jay immediately helped her to her feet. "Aww thanks baby," she said as she swung her arm over his shoulders and they headed to the kitchen. Jay rested his mother against the counter. He reached inside the refrigerator for an orange soda. He popped the top off the bottle.

"So mom how's it been," Jay asked as he leaned against the counter next to her. Philaine shook her head. "Mom what's wrong?" he asked and put down the bottle.

"I got a letter from your father saying that he is going to try to get full custody of you," Philaine laughed at the thought of Rick taking Jay away from her. "I'm a good mother but I guess he disagrees," she gulped down the rest of her beer.

"Mom, don't even worry about that bastard. I'm not going to go live with him," Jay smiled at his mother. Philaine smiled and kissed his forehead.

"I love you baby," she said and pulled him into a hug letting tears roll down her cheeks at the thought of losing her son. The boy she raised on her own, the boy she transformed into a young man, she wasn't going to let him be taken away. Jay hugged his mother back.

"Get out," someone yelled from outside. "I hate you! I want you dead! You're dead to me," the person kept repeating. Jay looked out the window to see a girl and her boyfriend fighting. "You slept with that slut and I fuckin' want you out of my life," she screamed at him. The guy looked defenseless, he didn't even try to fight the claims she was yelling at him. Jay laughed and looked at his mom.

"Some place we live in," Philaine touched Jay's cheek. Jay shook his head and continued looking out the window. Philaine ran her hand over his blonde hair and then went back to the party.

"I don't even want to hear your story," the girl started to throw pebbles at the guy. "I hate you,"

Emery had finished her shift at the Venice Noodle Company and pulled in her car into a parking space near her apartment. She got out of the car just in time to see the show.

"But," the guy finally begged. The girl shook her head and picked up an empty bottle of beer and lunged it at the guy. The bottle missed the guy's head and hit Emery right above the eye.

"Shit," she shrieked and covered her wound. The girl looked at her. "It's okay I'm fine," she said sarcastically and removed her hand from the wound and saw her hand was covered in blood. The guy walked over to Emery.

"I'm so sorry," he stated and examined Emery's wound. "She's just a little mad," he tried to make a joke out of the situation.

"So she's the slut," the girl stormed over to them. "You deserve to be hit with the bottle bitch!"

"What the hell," Emery felt like this was unbelievable. "I can't believe this shit," she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Macy I don't even know her," the guy looked at the girl and didn't understand why she was so mad at him.

Jay was watching and kind of laughing at what was happening. He knew Emery could take care of herself but the girl looked crazy so he went downstairs. He walked over to them. "Is there a problem," he asked calmly. He stood next to Emery and looked at the couple. "Well?"

The guy grabbed Macy's arm. "We're leaving now," the guy glanced at Emery quickly and went to their station wagon. Macy was still ranting at him as they got into the wagon and drove off. Emery glared at Jay. Jay smiled at her.

"I couldn't resist. I'm your knight in shining armor," Jay took off his shirt and handed it to Emery. Emery pressed it against her cut.

"Yeah but you could've gotten here earlier," Emery punched his shoulder lightly. Jay gaped at Emery as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Damn girl you hit me hard," he whined. Emery smiled like a little girl and took off running to her apartment. Jay ran after her and pinned her against the door. Jay's body and Emery's body were against each other. Emery could feel her heart race a little as she was trying to catch her breath. Jay gazed into her eyes like in one of those cheap romance movies. Emery did the same and they locked eyes. Jay leaned in close.

"Hey guys," someone yelled from downstairs. Jay bit his lip and rested his forehead against the doorframe. Emery slightly shoved Jay out of her way and looked to see who was calling them. Jay turned around and leaned his back against the door. He didn't know how to describe what he was feeling. Emery rested her elbows on the rails and glanced at their friends then turned to Jay.

"It's the boys and Peggy," Emery smiled and turned back to their friends. "We'll be down in a bit," she yelled down to them. She leaned against the doorframe next to Jay. "Want to go get your skateboard?" she asked. Jay sighed and headed to his apartment to get his skateboard. Emery headed downstairs and waited for Jay with the rest of the boys. "Jay," she yelled. "Hurry up!"

"Yeah you can continue what you were doing later on tonight when you guys are both high and drunk," Tony yelled at him. Everyone started to laugh. Jay came down the stairs with his skateboard.

"Funny Alva," Jay uttered and threw his skateboard on the ground. "Where's Stacy?" he asked as he looked around at his friend's faces. Tony shrugged.

"I'll go look for him," Emery suggested.

"No," Jay quickly admitted. Everyone was taken aback by that and looked at Jay. Jay felt the attention turned to him. He shrugged. "I don't care," he pushed off and headed to Tony's place since he knew that's where they were going. The boys followed him. Emery was kind of weirded out by that but got into her car and headed to Stacy's house.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Emery pulled on her zipper hoodie and headed up the stairs to Stacy's door. She rang the doorbell first. She stepped back from the door and waited a while. She then knocked and waited. The door finally opened and it was Stacy's dad. His eyes were the exact same color as Stacy's, although he had bags under his like he hadn't gotten any sleep for days. "Hey Mr. Peralta is Stacy home?" she asked.

"Oh of course, he's in his room," Stacy's dad nodded and let Emery walk in. "He sounded a little upset so I'm warning you," he smiled at her. Emery gave him a small smile and walked down the hall to Stacy's room with a surfboarder poster outside the door. She knocked on the door.

"Dad I'm fine," Stacy sighed thinking it was his dad knocking on the door to make sure Stacy was still breathing. He was staring at the television not really interested in what the news caster had to say.

"Okay that's good," Emery answered in a deep voice trying to sound like his dad. Stacy turned his head to the door and smiled. He got up from his bed and opened the door. "Hey," she smiled her little girl smile.

"Hey," Stacy smiled and moved aside to let her in. Emery walked into his room and looked around. He had a couple of more posters up on his wall. His surfboard rested against the wall next to his closet and the skateboard was thrown on the floor. The room was pretty messy; clothes were thrown on the floor. Stacy shut the door before his dad would come barging in and give him the 'sex talk'. Stacy began picking up the clothes and dumping them into a hamper. "So what are you doing here," he asked as he turned off the television. Emery strolled over to his dresser and picked up some of the things he had there.

"Well the guys, well Jay mostly, were asking about you so I volunteered myself to come get you. They went to TA's house for a party," Emery put down his watch and went to sit on his bed. Stacy nodded. She picked up the magazine that was by his bed and flipped through it. "So why aren't you there?" she asked and put the magazine on his nightstand. Then she pulled him down to sit next to her.

"Emery you know that I don't go to parties," Stacy shrugged. "Well rarely go to parties," Stacy kind of laughed at his response and felt his cheeks get red. Emery smirked at him.

"Oh my gosh Stacy your blushing," she pointed out. "That's so cute," she tried not to laugh loudly.

"I'm not blushing," he tried to say while keeping a straight face. He gazed up at her and looked deep into her eyes. Emery gazed back at him and felt butterflies in her stomach. She never felt like this before. Stacy leaned in slowly not sure if it was okay. Emery did the same but before they could reach other's lips.

"Hey kids," Stacy's dad knocked on the door. "Are you hungry?" Stacy sighed kind of loudly. Emery laughed at Stacy quietly.

"Dad we're fine," Stacy answered him.

"Yeah thanks anyway Mr. Peralta," Emery answered and gazed at Stacy once again.

"Okay you kids just holler if you need anything I'll be in the living room watching TV. Or better yet I'll be outside on the porch reading," Stacy's dad announced. "Or better yet I'll be out in the backyard reading,"

"Okay dad," Stacy started to sort of laugh and glanced over at Emery shaking his head.

"Okay," Stacy's dad finally left the door and went outside to read one of his books. Emery bit her lip and smirked.

"My dad is unbelievable," Stacy shook his head. "I'm sorry he's just," before he could explain Emery pulled him to her and kissed him passionately. Stacy responded in the same way without thinking. He felt something for Emery that he didn't feel for any other girl, something real. Emery slowly unzipped her jacket and took it off. She was wearing a tank top with one of Jay's button up shirt over it. She began to slowly lean back on his bed bringing Stacy with her. Stacy didn't want to ruin this moment by doing something stupid. He gently put his hand on her hip and caressed her cheek with his other hand. Emery felt a tingle run down her body as Stacy touched her cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck bringing him closer to her body than before. Stacy pulled back and gazed into Emery's eyes taking in what was happening.

"Stacy we don't have to do anything you don't want to," Emery smiled because she could tell he seemed nervous or something. Stacy shook his head.

"I just want," Stacy didn't know how to finish his sentence. Emery lifted her eyebrow. Stacy smiled and kissed her again. Emery kissed him back.

Jay and Sid were skateboarding over to Stacy's house. "What if he doesn't want to come?" Sid suggested. "I mean you know how Stacy is. No parties on a school night," Sid laughed. "Hey I made a funny," he kept laughing.

"You're one strange little kid," Jay joked as he stopped in front of Stacy's house. He picked up his skateboard. "Come on," he whispered and quietly crept over to Stacy's window. Sid followed him. "We're going to scare Stacy. I love doing this to him," Jay smirked and waited for a while. "What is he doing?" Jay asked Sid. Sid slowly peeked inside the window and saw Emery and Stacy making out. Sid shot back down. "Well what," Jay repeated.

"He's not there," Sid shook his head and grabbed Jay's arm. "Let's go," Sid started walking away from the window and tried to pull Jay along with him. Jay lifted his eyebrow at Sid and looked inside the window. "Jay," Sid stepped back from him. Jay felt something inside come a part. Jay slid down to sit on the ground. He felt his body turn numb. He felt like he lost the only person that was supposed to be there for him no matter what. "Let's go," Sid shrugged. Jay could feel rage running through his body. He stared at his skateboard and gritted his teeth. "Jay," Sid was talking louder now but still in a whisper. Jay gripped his skateboard tightly and stood up. Jay bit his lip and stared at his skateboard. "What are you going to do?" Sid could tell Jay was pissed. "Man, just walk away. Let them be."

"Nope not going to happen," Jay shook his head and put on his mischievous grin. "No way," Jay stared at his skateboard once more and banged it against the window forcefully making the window shatter.

Stacy and Emery pulled away and shot up from the bed. Jay climbed into the room through the broken window. "Hey guys," Jay smiled. "Is there a party," Jay laughed softly. "Come on in Sid," Sid climbed through the window and stepped on some of the broken glass. He looked at them apologetically for not trying harder to stop Jay.

"Jay what is wrong with you," Stacy remarked. He didn't understand why Jay was acting like this. Jay was a wild child but not crazy.

"I guess you didn't want to answer the fuckin' question 'cause you would rather fuck Emery," Jay pushed Stacy forcefully making him stumble nearly falling. "Stay away from her, Stacy. She doesn't want you," Sid tried to hold back Jay before he did something he would regret.

"Jay," Emery yelled at him. "Calm down," she walked over to him. "Let's just go," Jay didn't bothering looking at Emery he glared at Stacy. "Jay let's go," she grabbed his arm and picked up her jacket.

"You're nothing Peralta. You're just a poor sap. You have nothing. You can't even offer anything," Jay shrugged and pushed Stacy again. This time Stacy hit the floor.

"Go to hell Jay," Stacy remarked.

"Jay now," Emery pulled him to the door and they headed out of Stacy's house. Sid helped Stacy up and helped him clean up the broken window.

Jay was walking fast leaving behind Emery. Emery jogged to keep up with him. "Jay stop and talk to me," she grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Tell me what's wrong," she stood in front of him before he could walk off. "Jay, tell me. I'm your best friend we can tell each other everything. Remember no secrets," she looked at him. Jay licked his lips and stared back at her.

"Stacy just wants to sleep with you," Jay covered up. "He just wants to fuck you and leave you," he shrugged. "So I got there before he had chance to hurt you," he breathed in deep and let a sigh out.

"Okay I believe you're talking about Tony and I wasn't with Tony. I was with Stacy and we weren't going to do anything. I wouldn't let anything happen unless I wanted it to go further. Trust me," Emery grinned trying to lighten the moment for Jay. She could tell he was mad at Stacy for kissing her but she acted like she just didn't know. "Now let's just go and calm down shall we?" she took his skateboard and pushed off heading to their apartment building. Jay followed her.

: Zephyr Shop :

It was bright and early when Skip opened the shop. Jay and Tony rushed in as soon as Skip opened the doors. Sid soon showed up. Jay was looking at the new surfboards. "These are nice Skip," Sid said and touched the surfboards feeling the smoothness. Skip lit a cigarette and nodded.

"Made them yesterday," he answered as he pressed the cigarette between his lips and took out the blender to make some drinks. "So Jay heard about the little incident that happened last night," Skip kind of laughed.

"Fuckin Peralta told you. He's such a queer," Jay spat out. Stacy walked into the shop with a bag of food. "I'll talk to you guys later," Jay headed out of the shop.

"I'm just dropping off food Jay," Stacy stated and gave the bag to Skip. Skip looked inside the bag and pulled out the burger. Stacy headed out before Jay could but stopped in front of Jay. "I guess you got the answer to the question," he glanced at Jay and left. The shop fell silent. Jay fiddled with his hands trying to calm down.

"That was awkward," Skip finally broke the silence and everyone started to laugh even Jay. Jay shook his head and continued to look around at the surfboards.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Emery was cleaning tables at the Venice Noodle Company. She gathered the dishes and dumped them into the plastic tub she had. Stacy walked into the restaurant and went to the back. He got his apron and wrapped it around his waist as he headed to where Emery was. "Hey," he spoke softly as he helped her gather the dishes.

"Hey," Emery smiled at him and noticed he was in a gloomy mood. She put down the tub and grabbed his hand and went to the booth in the back. She slid into the seat on the right side. Stacy sat across from her and leaned back into the seat. "You're going to tell me what's bugging you," Emery questioned. Stacy was looking outside the window. "Stacy," she tried to get him to turn to her.

"Emery I don't know," he began. "I mean…I feel something for you but I don't know if I'm suppose to," he admitted and stared down at the table. He grabbed the salt shaker and turned it upside down watching the salt grains fall to the table. He did not want to make eye contact with Emery.

"What do you mean you're not supposed to," she was kind of confused by what he was saying or trying to say. Just then the boys came barging in and interrupted the silence that filled the restaurant. Emery glimpsed over at the boys.

"Hey baby," Tony voiced as a girl with a tube top and short shorts walked past him. The girl gave Tony a grin and Tony put on his irresistible grin. The girl licked her lips and walked over to her friends and they giggled. The girl was still eyeing Tony. Tony hit Jay's chest lightly as if saying _that was easy_ and headed over to the girl's table and sat next to her.

"How does he do it," Sid asked out loud.

"Well Sid," Jay began and Sid glanced at him shaking his head.

"It was a rhetorical question," Sid answered. "Meaning I don't need an answer," as Sid went on explaining Jay locked eyes with Emery and saw Stacy sitting across from her. He nudged his head motioning the question _what the hell are you doing with him_. Emery lifted her eyebrow motioning her answer _I'm not answering_. Jay tugged at Sid's shirt and went over to the booth.

"Hey Emery," Jay didn't acknowledge the fact Stacy was sitting there. He sat down next to Emery. "Oh hey Stacy didn't see you there. Thought you were just one of Emery's friends," he laughed sarcastically. Sid pulled up a chair and sat down at the end of the table. Stacy got up from the booth.

"I'm going back to work," he went to the back pushing the door forcefully open. Emery stared icily at Jay.

"What," Jay acted like he was innocent.

"I can't believe you. You're such a fuckin' idiot sometimes you know that," Emery shook her head. "Move," she pushed him out of the booth and stood up.

"Emery," Jay declared.

"No Jay I don't want to hear what you have to say. I always do and I'm sick of it," Emery was talking loud and the diner fell silent once again. Tony turned from the girl and looked over at Emery and Jay. "You just keep making excuse for the reason why you act like a bastard,"

"Emery shut up," Jay tightened his jaw. "I'm sorry that you're my best friend and I'm trying to protect you," he said in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"Protect me?" Emery let out a laugh. "Oh is that what you call it? Picking on Stacy and making him feel like shit. Well you're doing a fine job Jay. Have you ever considered the fact that I might actually care for Stacy or that didn't cross your mind," she pointed to her head as she said the last few words. "Well?"

"You know what. Fuck you Emery," Jay yelled.

"Jay," Sid stood up not sure why Jay said that. Emery and Jay were close and they had their arguments but this was the first one that seemed serious.

"Fuck you too Sid," Jay pushed Sid out of his way. Jay made his way to the exit and pushed opened the door and took off on his skateboard. Emery sighed and looked up at the ceiling taking in what just happened.

"You okay," she asked Sid. Sid nodded and got up. He walked over to the booth where the boys were sitting at and sat down. Emery leaned her back against the head of the table and crossed her arms. Frank Blanks, the owner of Venice Noodle Company, stormed over to Emery. "Hey Mr. Blanks," before she could explain what happened. He shook his finger violently.

"You're fired," he plainly said with no remorse in his voice. "You're fired," he repeated.

"But,"

"No. I can't have this in my restaurant. Please leave Emery," he acted like she was the worst employee he ever had. Even though Emery was one the best employees, he didn't want to show favoritism. He didn't want risk having another blow out like that in his restaurant, so he got rid of the problem. Emery nodded and took off her apron. She dropped it on the floor and walked out same way Jay did. Stacy watched Emery leave.

"Mr. Blanks she needs the job," Stacy pleaded.

"I'm sorry Stacy but I can't risk it," he went back to his office. Stacy sighed and felt horrible for what happened, and didn't know why. It was Jay's fault not his.

: P.O.P. Pier :

Emery was standing in front of The Cove watching the waves the hit _'bone yard'_. She couldn't believe she lost her job. So many things were running through her mind. How was she going to pay the bills, the medication, and food? She needed that job. She looked at her watch and saw that school had just finished. She hadn't been to school in a week. She had been working double shifts at the sweatshop but was telling her mom she was going to school. She zippered up her jacket when she felt a gust of wind pass by. She saw a couple of jocks and their girlfriends setting up their stuff at the beach. She wondered if she had chosen that path she would have been happier. She watched the guys carry their girl to the water and throw her in. Everyone was laughing. "Too Brady Bunch for me," a voice from behind her stated, she turned to see Tony.

"Do you think you would have been happier if you were a football player," she asked with a slight smile on her face. Tony shrugged.

"Getting to hit other guys without getting in trouble could be fun but it's too fuckin' perfect, with surfing you don't know what to expect. The waves are different every time. Some are gnarly and others are just bad," Tony gave her a half smile. Emery nodded. "You thinking about being a cheerleader?"

"No way. I was just thinking what if I had chosen to be that, what would have happen," she stared back at the _happy_ people.

"Well Jay would've attempted to be a football player that's for sure," Tony cracked a smile. "I mean he's like your love puppy," he laughed. "I made a funny," Emery laughed and shook her head.

"You're such a dork," she pushed him gently. "Can I tell you something and you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Look Emery if it's about you getting fired. Everyone knows," he smiled sarcastically and shrugged.

"No look," she reached into her pocket and pulled out something.

"Whoa Emery don't you think we should get to know each other better,"

"It's not a condom idiot," she unfolded the paper and revealed a small 'Help Wanted' advertisement. "This lady lives in Santa Monica and she's looking for a maid to come in everyday in the afternoon to clean her house. Can you come with me to check it out? I would ask Jay but he's pissed at me. I don't want to ask Stacy…too complicated so will you?" Tony gave the ad a once over and nodded.

"Sure could be fun," he grinned.

"Thanks Tony," she headed to her car and Tony followed her.

"You know you would've looked great in one of those cheerleading outfits," he joked. She pushed him harder nearly making him fall. "Hey," he started chuckling.

"Ha ha," she got into the car as did Tony.

: Santa Monica :

The lady's name was Carol Martin and she was a middle aged rich woman looking for someone to clean her house since she didn't want to and she had the money to cough up. Emery and Tony were sitting in living room while Carol was in the kitchen making a phone call. Tony jumped over the couch and went to the sliding doors to look at the pool. "This bird has her pool empty," he stated.

"There is a drought," Carol answered Tony as she came back into the living room with a tray of glasses of lemonade. Tony nodded and just stared at the empty pool.

"Well Emery you seem like a trusting person. How does $210 a week sound," Carol asked as she took a sip of her lemonade. Emery was taken a back by that and nearly spit out her lemonade.

"Uh…wow…Yeah I'll take it," Emery smiled. "Thank you so much Ms. Martin," she extended her hand. Carol shook her hand and smiled.

"Please call me Carol," she insisted. "None of this Ms. Martin," she shook her head. She looked over at Tony. "Do you like pools?" she asked. Emery turned to see Tony still staring at the pool.

"Oh…yeah," Tony turned to Carol. "Love them," he glimpsed at Emery with a big smile on his face. She could tell he was thinking of something but she couldn't tell what. Carol didn't notice and just smiled back. Emery shrugged it off and turned to Carol.

"Thank you for your time but we have to leave," Emery stood up. "I'll come in tomorrow," Emery walked over to Tony and grabbed his arm and dragged him to the door.

"Okay bye," Carol waved at them. Emery and Tony walked out and headed to the car.

"Okay tell me," Emery looked for her keys in her bag.

"You'll see tomorrow," Tony had a big grin across his face. Emery shook her head and unlocked the door to the car. They got in and headed home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Mom this lady is offering me $210 a week just for cleaning her house," Emery sounded overjoyed by the good news as she cleaned the table. Loren smiled at her daughter as she drank her glass of water. "It'll be easy. I mean I know she has a big house but I mean I can so do this," she filled the sink with water and soap to wash the dishes.

"What about school," Loren asked breaking the joyous moment. Emery began washing the dishes and stayed quiet trying to avoid the question. "Mrs. Sledge called today and said you haven't been to school for a week. Emery tell me what's going on," Emery swallowed hard not wanting to tell her mom. "Em," she sounded like she was getting mad.

"I've been working double shifts at the sweatshop," Emery admitted and put the cup she was washing down. She turned to face her mother. "I needed the extra money for the bills and the medication. So I took Philaine's shift, but it's just for this week. I promise. I'll go to school tomorrow," she knew she was breaking her mother's heart.

"Baby I don't need you to work double shifts. I don't mind you having a job but I'm the mom. I should worry about that kind of stuff not you," Loren got up and paced herself to the counter. "I want you to go get a good education," she touched her cheek. Emery nodded. "Okay then. You can have this job as a maid but if it interferes with school I want you to quit. Pinky promise," she held out her pinky. Emery linked her pinky with her mother's.

"Promise," she smiled. "Oh and I got fired from my job at Venice Noodle," she threw in knowing her mother never liked Frank. Her mother laughed and hugged her daughter.

"I never liked that son of a bitch," she whispered. Emery laughed along with her mother. There was a bang at the door. Emery broke away from the hug with a smile on her face and went to answer the door. Jay was standing there with a busted lip, bruises on his face, and red marks around his neck like he had been choked.

"Oh my God," was all she could say looking at her friend bruised up. "Please tell me that you didn't do what I think you did," she moved aside to let him in. He walked in.

"Em who is it," Loren called from the kitchen as she finished the dishes.

"It's Jay ma," Emery answered as she closed the door. She walked to the kitchen and got a freezer bag to fill it with ice. Jay strolled behind her looking down. Loren turned to Jay.

"Hey Jay," Loren grinned at him. Jay looked up slowly. Loren saw the bruises. "Jay what happened," she dried her hands and rushed over to him to look at the bruises. Emery handed her mom the bag of ice. Loren placed it against his eye as she examined the markings on his neck.

"Thanks," Jay finally spoke. Loren went to the bathroom to get the First-Aid Kit and she came back and handed it to Emery.

"I can take care of him," Emery pulled out a chair for Jay and he sat down. Loren nodded. She was feeling kind of dizzy and felt like lying down on her bed.

"Okay I'll be in my room then," she kissed Jay's forehead. "I'm so sorry," she whispered to Jay and left. Emery heard her mom speak the words as she opened the Kit and got some cotton balls.

"What happened," she asked again as she put a dab of peroxide on the cotton balls. She slid out the chair next to him and sat down. She pressed the cotton ball against his lips to clean up some of the blood. Jay weakly pushed her hand away and just held it for a while. "Jay," she noticed that he seemed scared and pissed.

"I didn't beat up Stacy. He's at home. I was out at The Cove surfing some gnarly waves. I mean they were awesome," he smiled at the alleged memory of the waves. He looked at Emery and saw she wasn't interested in that. "Well I saw some jocks there so I decided to go hit on their girlfriends. I walked over and just started dancing with some chick. I don't even fuckin' remember her name. So the guys got kind of jealous cause all their girls were all over me."

"Jay!" she snapped him back to reality. "I would like the truth," his story wasn't believable. She knew him far too well to believe that he got beat up by some jocks with letterman jackets. Jay sighed.

"Some guy was trying to rape my mom…When I got home I could hear them laughing in her room. So I was just like whatever. I sat down on the couch and drank some beer that was on the table. Then I heard my mom screaming. So I ran to the room and saw the guy ripping my mom's clothes off. I shoved the guy off her and threw him against the closet door. My mom was crying," Jay looked down and held Emery's hand a little tighter. "The guy started yelling at me so I punched him. I would've hit him with my skateboard but I didn't have it. Well the guy hit me back and I fell to the floor. He got on top of me and I was yelling at him 'you're going to fuckin' rape me too fag' he began to choke me. I couldn't breathe. My mom was trying to get the guy off of me but he was too strong for her. The guy kept hitting me. I struggled to push him off; my mom was just yelling and screaming at him. So I finally got a reach of my mom's nail filer and stabbed it in his arm. The guy finally got off him screaming in pain. I shot up and went to my mom. The guy yelled something and left," Jay felt tears roll down his cheeks. Emery didn't know what to say, she was speechless.

"I…Thank God," she just buried her face in her hands and cried. She almost lost Jay and her last thoughts of him were that he was bastard. "I'm so sorry," she threw her arms around him and cried harder. Jay hadn't seen Emery act like this since they found out her mother was sick. "I feel so bad because of what happened at Venice Noodle. I was just thinking you were a jackass and I hated you. I'm so sorry Jay. I love you so much and I don't want to lose you," she sat back down in her chair knowing how cheesy sounded but nothing else came to her mind. Jay knelt down in front of her.

"Emery you're not going to lose me. God himself will have to come down here and take me from you. If there is a God I might add," he smirked trying to lighten the moment. "I love you too Em," he lifted her hands and kissed them. "I hated you too at that moment," he gave her a half smile as he and sat on the chair. Emery had calmed down now.

"I got a job cleaning some lady's house. Tony wants to come with me tomorrow. He's up to something but I can't tell what," she put away the First-Aid Kit. "I got fired from the Venice Noodle," she added.

"Oh damn I'm sorry. I never liked that fat asshole anyway," Jay shrugged. "That's good you got a job," he punched her arm lightly. "I'm proud of you," Emery rubbed her arm and pushed Jay knocking over his chair and him in it although he did one of his very famous tumbles and landed on his feet. She grinned and went to the bathroom and put away the First-Aid Kit. He plopped down on the couch and lifted up the picture that was on the table where the lamp was. It was of Emery and her dad; he had taken Emery to New York for a Christmas/birthday present. Emery came back and sat next to him. She leaned back into the couch resting her head on the back. "I remember when you left me all alone for Christmas. Do you know how many people pinched my cheeks saying 'Oh Jay you look so handsome'," he mimicked an old lady's voice. Emery smiled weakly and took the picture from him. "I missed you," he leaned back into the couch and gazed at her.

"Why do you act like such a tough guy but around me you are so different," she asked putting the picture back where it was. Jay shrugged.

"You want me to act like that around you too," he asked. "Cause I will," he smiled and tapped her jaw line lightly. Emery pushed his hand away and shook her head. She moved in closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Jay wrapped his arm around her waist and propped his head on hers. He kissed the top of her head and sighed quietly. Emery took his hand and ran her finger over his palm gently. Jay watched her finger go over his palm. "Don't do that," he mumbled. She stopped and entwined her fingers with his.

"I'm going to school tomorrow," she confessed. Jay chuckled. "I'm serious," she didn't hint a chuckle in her voice.

"Oh," he felt bad for laughing. "Well okay," he wasn't sure what to say.

"I want you to come with me," she bit her lip knowing Jay would say no and give her a thousand reasons about why he wasn't going to school anymore.

"Okay…could be fun," he smirked. Emery looked up at him and smiled. She mouthed _Thank you_ and kissed his cheek. She placed her head back on his shoulder. "Your welcome," Jay knew that going to college was her dream but it was a kind of a hazy dream for her, since she had to work all the time.

: Next Day :

Emery was getting dressed for school. She put on some jeans and a tank top with Jay's black button up shirt over it. She slipped on some shoes and went to her mom's room. "I'm leaving mom," she kissed her mother's forehead.

"Okay have a nice day," her mother responded sounding drowsy and still half asleep. Emery left and got her backpack and headed out. Jay was waiting for her downstairs in the parking lot just going back and forth on his skateboard. She ran downstairs and put her foot on his skateboard. She smiled at him.

"Didn't think you were going to show," she admitted. Jay shrugged.

"Can we just go," he began to head to the direction of school. "I'm surprised I even remember the way to school," he joked. They arrived at the high school. "Welcome to the Hell House. Please sign in with the Devil's sluts," he teased meaning the cheerleaders. "Or would you like get fucked by the very infamous Devil's Dogs," he meant the football players. As they walked up the steps to the school building they got a lot of stares and people were snickering. "What the fuck assholes!" he shouted with a smirk on his face. A girl with a short skirt passed by them giving them a dirty look. "What's up baby you wanna do me," he pushed his body up against her. The girl rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Come on," she grabbed his arm and dragged him into school. She bumped into Mrs. Sledge. "Oh sorry," she stepped back and looked at Mrs. Sledge. "Hey Mrs. Sledge," she put on her little girl smile.

"Nice to see you made an effort Emery," she smiled big. "Jay," her smiled faded at the glimpse of him.

"Hey Mrs. S missed me," he smirked. "You look good," he checked her up and down. Mrs. Sledge tightened her lips together trying to control her outrage.

"Well I suggest you go to your class," Mrs. Sledge stormed off.

"You look hot Mrs. S, I can see why Mr. S married you," He joked and looked at Emery. Emery rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I'm going to art," Emery began walking to her art class. Jay followed. "You go to some other class," she suggested. "You know what a class is right?" she asked sarcastically acting like Jay was a little boy on his first day of school. Jay shook his head.

"I'm just here for the ride. I'm not going apply myself. I'm here for moral support," Jay swung his fist like is he was giving an inspirational speech. Emery shook her head and went to her art class. Jay followed her checking out the girls that were walking by them, winking at some.

: Santa Monica :

Emery was at Carol's house reading the list of things she had left behind for her. The doorbell rang; she put down the list and wrapped a bandana around her hair to keep it out of her face. She answered the door to see Tony, Sid, Jay, and Stacy standing outside. "Whoa no way guys, what are you doing here? I can get in so much trouble," she stated shaking her finger violently at them, the same way Frank did to her when he fired her. When she noticed she stopped and stared at the boys.

"Follow me if you want to find out," Tony winked and ran inside and went to the back. Sid walked into the house and ran after Tony. Jay walked in.

"Is that part of the uniform," he flicked the bandana and grinned. He went to the back with Tony and Sid. Stacy walked in letting his hair cover his face. Emery closed the door and looked at Stacy.

"Hey," he looked at her and gave her a small smile. She smiled back. "Nice job," he surveyed the house.

"Thanks, pays good, also," she smiled and took Stacy's hand. "I don't mind you trying to kiss me or anything you know cause I like you and you like me," she teased and said the last part as if she was air headed. Stacy put his hand on his cheek and kissed her. She smiled and kissed him back.

"Yo' Stacy come out here," Tony yelled from outside. Stacy pulled away and bit his lip still gazing into Emery's eyes. He headed outside still holding Emery's hand.

"Okay Tony what's this big surprise," Emery asked standing next to Stacy on the outside of the pool. Sid and Jay were also standing outside the pool. Tony was in the pool smiling.

"This wave breaks 24 hours a day, everyday and you know what bros we're going to be the first to ride it," he announced excitingly. Jay, Sid, and Stacy jumped inside the empty pool which echoed their steps as they walked around the pool.

"No way man, it can't be done," Stacy shook his head as he touched the sides of the pool. Emery crossed her arms and looked at the boys roaming around the pool. Sid smiled big excited about Tony's idea. He almost went along with everything the guys' said; he considered them to be his best friends so he stuck by them.

"Hell yeah Peralta," Tony argued and looked over at Jay.

"Well what the hell are we waiting for," Jay smiled and went to the end of the pool as did the rest of the guys. Tony was the first to ride it. He pushed off on his skateboard and tried to get a grip to attempt to ride the side of the pool but failed and fell off. He hit the bottom of the pool.

"Guys this stupid," Emery spat. Tony got up and went back over to where the other guys were. Stacy went next but ended up falling too. "Okay are you not hearing me," Jay went next and almost did it but ended up falling. His skateboard went flying up into the air nearly hitting him in the face. "Guys I'm serious," Emery put her hands on her hips like if she was their mother. "If you guys get hurt I'm going to lose my job!" They ignored her and Sid went. Sid was unable to do it either and hit the bottom. Although he looked like he was unconscious. "Sid," Emery jumped into the pool and rushed over to Sid. Jay, Tony, and Stacy ran over to Sid also. Emery lifted Sid's head into her lap. "Sid are you okay," she felt his hand rub her thigh.

"Is this heaven," Sid asked jokingly still with his eyes closed. The boys laughed. Emery smacked Sid's hand. He opened his eyes.

"Get up," Emery helped him to his feet and looked at them. "Tony this has to be one of the stupidest idea you have had, wait I take that back. This **IS** the stupidest idea you have ever had," she crossed her arms. "I can't afford to lose this job," she whined.

"Emery, we won't ruin this for you. We promise," Tony begged and clasped his hands together like he was praying. Emery sighed and couldn't help but give in.

"Okay fine, but you leave your skateboards out here don't bring them into his house," she climbed out the pool and headed inside to start cleaning. While the boys attempted to skate the pool.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It had been a couple of weeks already that the guys had been skating the pool. Carol had said it was okay for them to skate the pool but just as long as they did not sue her for any accidents. Emery was cleaning the living room when Carol came back. "Hey Emery," she closed the door and could hear the boys yelling at each other from outside. "Still working hard," she smiled and put down the bags of clothes. Emery smiled.

"Yeah they are," she put down the rag and smiled at Carol.

"Have you noticed how pretty you are," Carol said. "You need a make over," she grabbed Emery's hand and pulled her to her bedroom. "I love giving a make over that's why I wish I had a daughter but I had a son and I'm pretty sure he didn't want to wear dresses," Carol smiled and sat her down on the chair in front of the mirror. "I'm going to turn you into a looker and those boys outside will be looking your way," Carol smiled. Emery smiled back, she didn't want to tell Carol she didn't want to be made over and feared if she said something it would seem rude so she just went with it.

"Ah Jay," Red Dog yelled as Jay did a trick. Carol went outside and made her presence known. Everyone stopped and gave Carol there undivided attention.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Carol began. "You may know her as that girl from across the street, or that girl that works most of her life but for right now she' s going to be Emery," Carol turned to the doors and watched Emery walk out. She was wearing a spaghetti strapped dress, with some simple strapped shoes, and she actually had make up on but not dramatic make up something that didn't stand out. Emery was nervous because she was always just in jeans and a t-shirt. She never really got dressed and her friends had never seen her dressed up before. Red Dog was the first to whistle and bang his skateboard, not too hard though, against the side of the pool. Then the others joined in. "I think she does look pretty hot," Carol joked knowing Emery would blush. Emery looked over at Jay. Jay could feel his stomach turn and got nervous for some reason. Jay saw something different about Emery that he hadn't noticed before. Oh that's right that she was a girl.

"Okay yeah whatever," Emery laughed and hugged Carol. "Thanks," she smiled big as she pulled away from the hug. She still looked over at Jay quickly and Jay was still in shock seeing his best friend not wearing jeans.

"You clean up good," Tony exclaimed. Emery threw him the finger. Tony did the same. Carol smiled and went back inside. The boys went back to skating the pool. Jay was about to walk over to Emery but Stacy got to her first. Stacy said something to her and Emery smiled. Stacy kissed her. Jay stopped in his tracks and felt his heart sink. He placed his board at the edge of the pool and joined Tony in skating around the pool. He felt kind of angry that Stacy got to Emery first. He could hear them giggling. He stopped at the edge of the pool and looked over at them. Stacy had his arms wrapped around Emery's waist; he was kissing her cheek repeatedly. Emery was laughing and turned her lips to Stacy. Jay tightened his jaw and skated the pool harder than before.

: Zephyr Shop :

"Okay boys, I called you in here because we decided to start a skateboarding team and we know you guys are the best," Skip announced. The boys made noise. "Okay now here are your shirts," each guy, and Peggy, received a shirt. "Now for the best news yet we got you guys some presents," Billy Z brought in a box with skateboards. Everyone fought their way to the box and grabbed a skateboard. They began to pile outside to test the new skateboards. Jay stayed inside still sitting. "Jay why aren't you out there," Skip asked as he lit another cigarette disposing the butt of the other.

"Is Stacy going to be on the team," Jay asked. Skip shrugged and didn't answer. "I don't want him to be," he headed out of the shop. Skip looked at Chino and shrugged.

"Those boys were supposed to be best friends," Skip joked and they started to laugh at the irony. "Ain't that ironic,"

: Tony's House :

Jay was sitting on the porch steps drinking a beer. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He didn't feel like he had the energy to talk to anyone. Stacy pulled up to the house and got out of his car. "Ah shit," he said under his breath. Stacy headed up the steps to go inside in the house. "You didn't get on the team," Jay broke the news in the most insincere way he could possibly imagine. Stacy stopped and looked down at Jay. Jay looked up at him and threw the empty cup on the ground. He shrugged. "Sorry bro," he smiled and went inside to get another cup of beer. Stacy leaned against the rail. He headed back to his car and Jay watched him leave. It's not that he didn't like Stacy, it was the fact that he was trying to get with his best friend. Jay grabbed another cup of beer and headed back outside. Emery showed up wearing jeans and one of Jay's shirts. Emery walked over to him.

"Hey," Emery stopped and looked down at Jay. Jay looked up at her.

"Hi," he said with no emotion and just drank his beer. Emery sat next to him. "Why don't you go comfort your boyfriend? He didn't get on the team," Emery looked down. "Yeah, he already came by and I told him," he shrugged and looked straight ahead. He sounded like he didn't care about Stacy not getting on the team, but in reality he did. He wanted Stacy on the team. It was always suppose to be the three of them. Tony, Stacy, and him, they were supposed to be the top dogs. He didn't understand why this Emery thing was tearing him apart. Emery had always been there and he never noticed.

"Jay," Emery began.

"No I don't need your comfort Emery. I'm fine I fuckin made the team," he shot up and began to dance. "I made the team," he repeated. Emery could tell he was mad and drunk. She shook her head. "I made the team Emery," he drank the rest of his beer and threw the empty cup at her, but she moved before it hit her. "Stacy didn't make it I did!" he howled like a wolf to the moon. Jay licked the beer off of his lips and continued to dance.

"Talk to me when you're sober," she got up and shoved him out of her way. Jay grabbed her arm tightly.

"What's wrong baby," he pushed up his body against her. Emery tried to push him off but Jay didn't budge. "Oh come on," the alcohol had consumed his every thought. He wasn't thinking straight. He tried to kiss Emery. He kept his body rubbing against her.

"Stop," she pushed him off her finally. He fell to the ground. She glared at him and shook her head. "Jay…," she shook her head and walked off. Jay watched Emery walk off and stayed on the ground.

: Next Day :

Jay was knocking on Emery's bedroom door since Loren had let him in already. "Emery, open please," he begged. "I'm sorry," Emery was lying down on the bed hearing Jay at her door. "I'm not leaving. For God sake's I didn't go pool hunting so I could be here trying to beg for your forgiveness," Emery rolled off the bed and went to open the door. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "I was drunk and stupid,"

"Got that right," Emery left the door open and went to laying back down on her bed. Jay walked in and closed the door behind him. Emery's room was pretty simple. She had candles around the room and pictures covered her closet door. She opened her book and started reading. Jay walked over to her closet to look at the pictures. There were some of Tony and Kathy. There was some of Sid acting stupid like he always did. There some of Stacy acting…well like Stacy. Then there were pictures of him. There were some of him posing with his tongue out, another with him dancing, and another with him wearing one of his hats. Emery didn't bother looking over at Jay she was just reading her book. Jay climbed over Emery and laid down next to her like he always did. Emery laid her book down on her stomach and turned to look at him.

"Can we just lay here and not talk," Jay asked. He knew it sounded kind of weird but that's all he wanted to do. He didn't want to talk; he just wanted to lie next to her. He enjoyed her company and thought this might be the last chance he could do this. He knew she liked Stacy and Stacy liked her. Jay wasn't sure of his feelings for her, they were all mixed up. He wanted to be with her but then he didn't.

"Yeah we can," Emery brushed his hair with her fingers and nodded. Jay closed his eyes and just fell into a trance while Emery was running her fingers through his hair.

"How do you do it," he asked but not expecting an answer. She turned on her side to face him. He didn't open his eyes; he could feel her eyes on him. "I mean…my day can be so fucked up but you'll manage to make it so much better no matter what. With just a smile or a grin or just being with you can make all this bad shit go away."

"I'm a professional," she joked and kissed his forehead. "I don't know. You tell me how I do it," she asked. Jay slowly opened his eyes and locked them with hers.

"I don't know. You just do it," he touched her cheek. Jay turned on his side to face her and leaned in. Their lips were nearly touching but nothing happened. Neither of them attempted to kiss each other they just stared at each other. It seemed like their bodies were frozen and they didn't want to ruin this moment. Jay licked his lips. Emery sighed. Jay began to feel something develop inside him; the feeling like he couldn't let Emery be with anyone else. He wanted her to himself; could this be love Jay Adams was feeling? It kind of freaked him out. "I gotta go," he crossed over quickly but ended up falling to the floor. Emery turned to him.

"You okay?" she asked while sounding like she wanted to laugh. Jay nodded and got up quickly. "You sure," she sat up on the bed. He nodded to reassure her he was okay. He hurried out of the room and left to one of the elementary schoolyards near by. He stood there on his skateboard just thinking. Stacy showed up.

"Hey man," Stacy said. "Pigs got to the pool we were at so we scattered," he shrugged. "I was thinking about the skate team and it's cool that I didn't get on it. If it wasn't meant to be then it wasn't meant to be," he shrugged.

"Stacy do you love Emery," Jay asked completely ignoring what Stacy had just said.

"I don't know," Stacy answered not sure what to say. "I mean I like spending time with her, but I don't know if I love her. Maybe I do," he shrugged and looked at Jay. Jay sat down on the concrete. Stacy sat next to him. "Emery is a really great person and I see myself with her but I don't know. I guess I'm just scared of what might happen," he confessed to Jay. He trusted Jay out of all his friends. Jay was usually the one that listened even though he acted like he didn't give a shit.

"Yeah she is," Jay nodded and slid his hand across the wheels on his skateboard. He watched the wheels turn.

"What if I can't make her happy? I mean I see the way she is with you and you make her laugh," Stacy felt something for Emery but wasn't sure if he could bring something to the relationship. He saw the way Jay and her acted; they were almost like a couple. Everyone thought that they would end up together for sure. Jay acknowledged the words Stacy had just said and smiled to himself, knowing that Stacy was right. He did make her laugh and smile no matter what.

"Have you guys had sex yet," Jay asked out of no where. Stacy was taken aback by the question and stared at Jay. "I'm just asking," he said since Stacy was giving him weird looks.

"No we haven't," he shook his head and pushed back some of his hair behind his ear. Jay nodded and kind of felt like this conversation was getting too serious.

"Have you thought about it," Jay grinned and pushed Stacy. Stacy smiled.

"Yeah I guess I have but you can't tell her," Stacy pointed out quickly. Jay clapped his hands.

"Stacy you're turning into a pervert. I'm so proud of you," Jay pretended to cry. Stacy pushed Jay. "Man look on a serious note. If you two do decide to have sex…just make sure you love her and won't leave her the next day," Jay warned.

"I won't do that. I promise. I'm not Tony," Stacy stood up and got on his skateboard. "I gotta go to work. I'll talk to you later," Stacy took off. Jay stayed sitting down reading some of the graffiti that was spray painted on the concrete. Jay noticed someone towering over him; he looked up to see Seth. Seth and Jay were rival skaters ever since they could skate. Seth had money so he could do whatever the hell he wanted and no one could tell him otherwise. Seth was wearing dark sunglasses and a hat.

"What the hell do you want Seth," Jay didn't want to get into with Seth at the moment.

"Heard you Z-Girls were going to Del Mar," Seth crossed his arms.

"Wow news travels fast eh," Jay grabbed his skateboard and stood up. Seth took off his sunglasses revealing his dark brown eyes. "Well guess you came to warn me to back out," Jay knew Seth too well. Jay turned his head to the side acting like he was already bored with Seth.

"I came to tell you you're getting your ass kicked at Del Mar. So don't even bother showing up. You may skate a pool but that doesn't mean shit," Seth raised his eyebrow and smirked. "You're the same shitty skater you have always been. You're just white trash Adams," Seth got up in Jay's face. Jay pushed him back but not that hard just so he could get away from him.

"Seth you can try to scare me all you want. I really don't give a flying fuck what you can do and next time, don't try to kiss me. Leave that to your girlfriend and tell her I'll see her at Del Mar," Jay shook his head and began walking away.

"Bet I can fuck Emery before you get to her," Seth knew Jay too well and bringing up Emery was one of Jay's weakness. Jay stopped and turned around to face Seth.

"She doesn't go for guys with no balls," Jay threw him the finger and skated off.

: Santa Monica :

Emery was over at Carol's house even though it was her day off. Sid wanted to practice skating the pool so Emery decided to help him out especially when she saw Tony leave him behind while he hitched a ride with some chick. Carol was going through her closet pulling out old dresses. "I think you're mom would fit into this," Carol took a silky black dress with the thin straps that were covered with studs.

"Wow that's gorgeous," Emery took the dress from Carol. "My mom would love this," she smiled big and hugged Carol. "Thank you so much," she walked over to the three sided mirror to look at the dress on her. Carol walked over to her and handed her a pink dress that stopped at the knees. It had delicate braided straps and it looked like a party dress. Emery took the dress from her and put it against her body to see how it would look. Carol went back to her closet.

Sid walked into the room since the door was opened and sat down on the bench in front of the queen sized bed. He wasn't shocked by any of this since it looked similar to his house. "Are you going to try it on," Sid suggested. Emery turned to him.

"No you perv. Damn Sid you're all sweaty," Emery laid the dress on the bed next to a couple of other dresses. She sat down next to him and looked around the room. "This is so amazing," she looked at the paintings that were hanging on the wall. There were a couple of picture frames on the dressers. She acknowledged everything that was in the room. There were some antique lamps, vases, and other small items. "Well let's go Sid," she got up and got the dresses Carol had given her. "I'll see you tomorrow Carol," she said as they headed out.

"Okay bye Emery, bye Sid," Carol shouted at them from the closet.

"Bye," Sid and Emery said at the same time. They headed downstairs and went to Emery's car. She opened the back door and carefully placed the dresses on the seat. Then she got in and headed back home. As she drove she saw the boys once again being chased out of someone's pool. Peggy saw Emery's car and ran over to her.

"Sid, unlock the door," Emery said as she stopped for Peggy. Sid reached over and unlocked the door. Peggy opened the door and got in. Emery took off as soon as Peggy was in the car. She swerved trying to lose the police car that was following her. Emery took a sharp left and pulled into someone's driveway, the police car drove by still letting the sirens sound. Emery watched the police drive from the rear view mirror. When they seemed out of sight she pulled out of the driveway and headed in the opposite direction of the cop car.

"Thanks Em you came just in time," Peggy was panting. "They were all over us," Peggy slouched in the backseat trying to catch her breath.

"Yup no problem," Emery smiled as she headed back to Dogtown.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Feeling better, now that we're through._

_Feeling better cause I'm over you._

_I learnt my lesson, it left a scar._

_Now I see how you really are..._

Linda Ronstadt's song came blaring from the radio. Emery and her mother were wearing the dresses Carol had given them. Emery turned up the volume as the chorus began. Emery and her mother began singing along with the song loudly as they had hairbrushes in their hands acting like they were microphones.

_You're no good,_

_You're no good,_

_You're no good._

_Baby, you're no good._

_I'm gonna say it again._

_You're no good,_

_You're no good,_

_You're no good._

_Baby, you're no good. _

Emery and Loren were dancing around the living room like they were little girls. Emery jumped on the couch and sang louder. Loren looked at her and just laughed. She loved the fact that her and her daughter could act like this; like best friends. "Take it away mom," Emery shrieked as the next verse came on. Loren began singing along trying to match the vocals of Linda.

_I broke a heart, that's gentle and true._

_Well, I broke a heart over someone like you._

_I'll beg his forgiveness on bended knees._

_I wouldn't blame him if he said to me..._

Emery clapped loudly as her mother finished singing. Then the chorus came out again and they sang along.

Philaine and Jay walked over to their apartment. Philaine looked for the key to the door since Loren had given her one just in case of emergencies. "Here it is," Philaine smiled as she held up the key. Jay grinned trying to act excited about the fact that his mother found the key. Philaine unlocked the door and was blown away by what Loren and Emery were doing. Emery and Loren stopped singing and turned their attention to Phil and Jay. Jay joined with his mom. "Well that looks like fun," she crossed her arms trying to stop laughing. Emery got off the couch and went to turn off the radio.

"Sorry we were just having some fun," Loren shrugged. Philaine walked over to Loren with a smile on her face. They were talking amongst each other as they headed to the kitchen to get some coffee.

"So Emery you are a normal person," Jay joked as he strolled over to her with his hands in his pockets. Emery grinned sarcastically.

"Yeah," Emery headed to her bedroom and Jay followed her. She went to her dresser to take off the jewelry she was wearing. "So why did you come over," she asked as she took off her earrings. Jay plopped down on her bed and shoved the pillows under his head.

"My mom needed to talk to Loren so she invited me," Jay reached for the photo album that was placed on Emery's window seal. He began to flip through the photos fairly quickly. He paused on the picture of him and Emery at his birthday party. He had frosting all over his face and he was rubbing it on Emery. Emery quickly changed into some shorts and a tank top. She carefully hung up the dress. She crossed over Jay, but before she could get to the other side Jay grabbed her hips. He put down the photo album and looked up at Emery. She was looking down at him. He sat up and now Emery was sitting on his lap facing him. Emery didn't move she just stared into Jay's eyes. Jay kissed her neck and moved up and stopped when he reached her lips. Emery could feel her stomach turn, she was getting nervous. "Em…I want to," he said quietly just so she could hear. Emery felt a rush run through her body as she was hearing what Jay said. "Before," he stopped himself. He was hoping she was getting the hint at what he meant. Jay gently touched her cheek and ran his fingertips down her arm. She got goose bumps.

"Sta…," she leaned in closer to Jay's lips. She knew what he meant and she wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. She wanted to, especially with Jay. She cared about Jay and often thought that he would be her first. Her heart was racing and felt that it was the perfect moment. Everything came down to this exact moment. Nothing else matter. She shut the world off and concentrated on Jay. "Okay," she kissed him passionately. Jay felt the passion and returned it as he lifted his shirt up. She pulled back and helped him take it off. She smiled and kissed him again. In the back of her head she knew she was with Stacy, but Jay meant so much more right now. Jay began to lean back onto the bed and brought Emery with him. Emery pulled the sheet over them and looked at Jay. "I love you," she whispered and kissed him again.

"Well thank you for listening," Philaine squeezed Loren's hand as she smiled at her. "I don't know what I would do without you,"

"Your very welcome Phil," Loren answered. She noticed that Emery and Jay hadn't come into the kitchen. "What are those kids up to," Loren asked out loud as she looked around.

"I don't know probably talking. Emery and Jay are so cute together," Phil drank some of her coffee. Loren smiled and nodded.

"But she's dating that boy, Stacy. He's so kind and such a gentleman," Loren took a bite out of her cookie. Emery and Jay walked into the kitchen. Jay was fixing his shirt since he had put it on backwards. Emery leaned against the counter acting like nothing happened. Jay stood next to her. "You kids have fun," Loren asked.

"Jay's a moron," Emery smiled at Jay. Jay shook his head and stuck his tongue out at her. Emery did the same. "Well you are,"

"You are," Jay acted like nothing happened also even though it happened to be one of the best nights.

"Well we should get going," Philaine got up. "Talk to you tomorrow Loren, bye Emery," she kissed her forehead and headed out.

"Bye Em," Jay kissed her cheek near her lips. "Bye Loren," he kissed her cheek and followed his mother out. He looked over at Emery once more and left. Emery smiled and looked down.

"Night mom," she kissed her mother's forehead. She went to her room and shut the door. She smiled really big and glad that Jay was her first. She loved Jay and just wanted it to go that way. She sat down on her bed and then realized that she had done something wrong. She had sex with Jay and she was with Stacy. Her world just collapsed in front of her. Pieces were falling all at once. She didn't know how she was going to face Stacy. She had to act like nothing happened. Tomorrow was the contest at Del Mar and she promised to be there for Stacy. She bit her lip and felt like crying.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Emery was sitting on the floor of her room rummaging through the color pencils she had in a box. She was drawing on her sketch pad but she was pressing on the colors to make the lightest colors seem dark. She was anger, sad, frustrated; she was feeling every emotion anyone could feel when they had just betrayed a person they loved. She felt tears roll down her cheeks and let them fall to the sketch pad. She continued coloring. The door to her room opened slowly making a creaking noise. "Emery it's 3 in the morning what are you doing up?" Loren walked into the room and noticed Emery didn't look up. Emery was just focused on her art. "Emery," Loren walked slowly towards her. Emery still didn't look up. Loren sat next to her on the floor. "Sweetheart, tell me what's wrong," she pulled back a piece of Emery's hair behind her ear.

"Mom I'm so stupid," Emery exclaimed and dropped the color pencil into the box and tossed her sketch pad on the floor. "I did something…just I can't take back,"

"Honey, it's okay," Loren took Emery into her arms and rocked her trying to calm her down. "Shh baby its okay," Loren kissed Emery's forehead. Emery was crying uncontrollably.

"Mom I slept with Jay," Emery confessed. Loren stopped rocking her and looked down at her. "I don't know why. It just happened,"

"Emery," Loren sat up Emery to face her. "You're 16," she began.

"Mom I love him!" she exclaimed thinking she did. She knew she did, she could feel it. Loren shook her head.

"Honey you don't know what love is. Not right now. You're young don't make any mistakes that can ruin the rest of your life," Loren begged. Emery shot up.

"I'm not getting pregnant! I mean God…is it so wrong that I wanted my first time to be with someone that I love and care about," Emery stopped herself from continuing to cry. She was getting angry at her mother for saying what she said.

"Emery, what about Stacy?" Loren hated to tell her daughter the reality but she had to snap Emery back.

"I…Stacy…Jay came first," was all Emery could say. She didn't know what to do about Stacy. She had begun building a relationship with him but now this whole Jay thing was throwing her off. She couldn't believe this was happening. She never really had a boyfriend before; let alone feel love for someone. "I don't know mom."

"I know you care about Jay but…you both know that it can't be," Loren stood up and crossed her arms over her stomach. She felt like she was getting another pain in her stomach.

"Why not he's not like dad, mom. He's not going to walk out on me when things get hard and he can't handle them," Emery didn't want to hear her mom anymore.

"Emery! Are you hearing yourself? You are building a relationship with Jay that doesn't exist! You're not with him, you're with Stacy! Jay isn't your boyfriend or your husband. He's just your friend," Loren tried to be as sensitive as she could but Emery wasn't understanding what the reality of the situation was.

"Mom this night was supposed to be wonderful and unforgettable. Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I considered how I hurt Stacy? I stayed up all night trying to figure out what to do! I'm not stupid!" Emery stormed out of her room and went to the living room to put on the shoes she had there and get her jacket. Loren followed her.

"Emery, don't you leave. Not now," Loren demanded. This was the first time she was actually getting furious with her daughter. Emery was putting on her shoes. "Emery, are you listening to me?" Loren yelled at her. She hadn't yelled at her daughter since Emery had tried to put her hand on the stove.

"Mom just stop! I don't want to hear it anymore! Why can't you just face the fact that I'm not perfect? I tried to but I can't mom. I gave up so much," Emery's words were getting caught in her throat but she knew she had to tell her mom this even though it hurt her so much. She had to let it out; it was tearing her apart inside. "I gave up so much to take care of you. I gave up my life to be here for you every damn day. I'm the least selfish person and you know it. I hardly did anything for myself because I always put you first before me. And don't act like its not true cause you know it is! Dad was never here when you were in the hospital! I was! I stayed up half the night waiting for you to wake up. For once I do something for myself and it's the worst thing in the world! I wanted to have sex with Jay so I did. Granted I didn't take into consideration the consequences but I did it for myself. You're just disappointed that I went about it the wrong way. I'm leaving now and don't try to stop me with bullshit," she grabbed her jacket and left not looking back at her mother. She knew she broke her heart but she felt like she needed to say it. She got in her car and just started to cry. She felt so stupid and horrible. She wanted to scream and just let out everything. Every emotion she was feeling. She couldn't keep it bottled up anymore. She turned on the ignition and headed to Stacy's house. When she got there she wiped some of the tears from her face and went up the porch. She ironed out her jacket to look decent. She knocked on the door.

Stacy heard the knock and looked at his clock. Red numbers flashed '3:32'. He rolled off his bed and rubbed his eyes. He yawned and heard the knock again. "Stacy, get it," his dad shouted at Stacy groggily. Stacy headed to the door and opened it.

"Emery what are you doing here," Stacy yawned and rubbed his eyes trying to wake up a little.

"I'm sorry to bother you but I need to talk to someone," Emery managed to say over her tears. She bit her lip.

"Right now," Stacy leaned his head against the door and felt his eyes close. "Come in," he could tell Emery was upset. Emery walked in and pulled her jacket closer to her body. Stacy closed the door and dragged himself back to his room. Emery followed him. Stacy pushed open the door and turned on the lamp that practically lit up the room. He got under the covers of his bed. He lifted the covers meaning for Emery to get in. She slipped off her shoes and took off her jacket. She got under the covers and turned to Stacy. "What's wrong?"

"My mom and I got into this big fight," she glanced up at Stacy and knew he was trying to stay awake but his eyes kept closing on him. "Never mind just sleep," she kissed his forehead. Stacy nodded and yawned once more. He wrapped his arm around Emery's waist bringing her closer to him. Emery moved closer to him and just stared at him for a while, while he slept. She touched his face carefully like it was going to break if you applied pressure. Emery could feel the guilt rising in her. She turned so her back could face Stacy. He adjusted his arm but still had it around her waist. She looked around his room and just kept focus on his skateboard. Del Mar was tomorrow and he wasn't going to compete. He wasn't on the team. She bit her lip and had an idea to make it up to Stacy even though he really didn't know what she did. She snuck out of the bed carefully so she didn't wake Stacy. She kissed his forehead and gathered her things and left.

: Next Day :

Stacy woke up and noticed the Emery wasn't there. He scratched his head and got up. At first he thought he dreamt the whole Emery thing but he couldn't have. He smelt a sweet aroma coming from the kitchen. He walked into the kitchen to see his dad eating pancakes. "Dad you didn't make those did you?" Stacy asked as he pulled out a chair. His dad shook his head.

"Emery did, wonderful girl. She left this for you," he handed him a paper. Stacy lifted it up and read the paper.

"Del Mar Nationals," Stacy read out loud. He continued to read the information and saw the arrow at the bottom of the page. He turned the page around and saw that Emery had written something:

_Stacy, Meet me at Venice Noodle at noon. I have a surprise for you. Love Emery_

Stacy smiled and looked at the weird shaped clock on the kitchen wall. His dad had bought it at some garage sale claiming it was an antique. It was 11:13. "Damn," Stacy shot up and went to get ready.

: Del Mar :

The Zephyr Skate Team had signed up and was sitting on the sidelines poking fun at the other skaters. The other skaters were dressed in sequence uniforms or tight pants and weird looking shirts. "What's up hot stuff," Jay teased as some guy walked past them dressed in a jumpsuit. Everyone laughed.

"First up riding for Zephyr Skate Team is Jay Adams," the announcer said into the microphone.

"Yeah!" the Zephyr team yelled to cheer on Jay as he walked to the center. Skip went to the DJ and slipped in something more Jay's style.

_I - am - Iron - Man!_

"Go Jay!" yelled his teammates as they rooted for him. Everyone was blown away by the music that was playing over the speakers. Jay glanced around the crowd and took a deep breath. He began to skate. His style was a lot more aggressive than the other skaters before him. He did sharp turns and got closer to the crowd. The judges were shocked by what Jay was doing. They had never seen it before and were talking amongst themselves trying to figure out what to do. The announcer was speechless. Jay had finished and stuck his tongue out at the crowd. They started to scream for him. They wanted more from Jay.

"Well let's see the score. 7, 6.5, 7," the announcer read the scores the judges held up.

"That's bullshit," Tony argued and glared at the judges like he was going to hurt them. The judges put down their scores when they saw how Tony was looking at them. Jay shrugged and ran over to his team.

"Next up we have an independent skater from Venice, California. Stacy Peralta," the announcer said. Stacy went to the middle. Emery was standing on the opposite side of the Zephyr team.

"Go Stacy!" yelled the Zephyr team. He may not have been on the team but they were still friends. Jay glanced over at Emery hoping she would look at him, but she was just concentrating on Stacy. Stacy began to skate. He was also aggressive but did not stray too much away from the simple tricks. The judges seemed impressed with Stacy. Stacy had finished and skated over to Emery as he waited for his score. He held her hand tightly and bit his lip. Emery noticed that he was nervous she kissed his cheek trying to calm him down. Jay tightened his jaw as he stared at their hands.

"9, 8.5, 9.5," the announcer smiled. The crowd clapped and yelled Stacy's name. Stacy hugged Emery. Jay tried to control his anger and act like it didn't bother him but couldn't help it. He headed over to them.

"Congrats man," Jay smiled as Stacy and him did their little handshake.

"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without Emery. She paid for the entry fees and got me signed up," Stacy stated. He was still psyched that he had an awesome score. Better than Jay's which felt like it was a first. Jay nodded and turned his attention to Emery. Emery smiled at him.

"Stacy did awesome just like I knew he would," Emery confessed and couldn't turn her attention from Jay. Jay grinned and nodded still locking eyes with Emery. Stacy noticed their eyes locked on each other.

"Yeah well we better go," Stacy broke their eye contact. Emery turned to Stacy and smiled. "We'll see you later man," Jay and Stacy did their little hand shake. Emery smiled at Jay and took Stacy's hand. They walked off. Jay watched Emery and Stacy walk away. He felt like his chance with Emery just got ruined. The fantasy that he built, thinking that Emery and he were supposed to be together, was shattered. He felt it last night and he knew that she felt it also.

: Santa Monica :

Emery was in the bathroom scrubbing the tub when the door bell rang. Carol was out shopping and taking care of some business. Emery sighed and washed her hands. The door bell rang again. She dried her hands on her jeans as she walked to the door. She took off the bandana and shoved it into her back pocket to attempt to make herself look decent. She opened the door. As soon as she opened the door she was taken a back by who was standing there. She didn't know what to say. She was in complete shock; she gripped the door handle tightly trying to comprehend what was going on. Emery shook her head and felt like crying but yelling at the same time. She looked up at who was standing there once more to make sure she wasn't dreaming it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Hi Emery," the figure spoke and seemed as shocked as she was.

"Dad what are you doing here?" Emery asked as if she was ashamed. Emery's dad, Evan, swallowed hard and bit his lip not sure what his daughter was doing there. "Come in I guess," Emery moved aside to let her dad in. Evan walked in and shoved his hands into his pockets. He was dressed in a business suit; it was a simple black jacket and pants with a white button up shirt. His tie was made of silk and looked quite expensive. Emery closed the door and crossed her arms. She kept her eyes down at the floor.

"What," they both said at the same time. Then they both stared down at their feet biting their lip. Evan looked at his daughter. She was nervous about looking at him. She couldn't tell him what she was doing for a living to earn money. She knew that he would want her to come live with him and put her mother into a hospital.

"You've grown so much the last time I saw you," Evan finally broke the silence and touched the top of his daughter's head. He felt awkward for some reason. He lost contact with her after her 13th birthday when he took her to New York. He had promised to keep writing her but he just got too busy and forgot to.

"Well dad it's been 3 years so yeah I kind of grew," Emery muttered. She had a hint of anger in her voice when she spoke. Her father had left and seemed to forget about her and her mother. He may have tried to keep in contact but he didn't try hard enough. He had lost Emery's trust.

"Emery I tried," Evan admitted trying to make it seem like it shouldn't have been a big deal.

"Dad…you tried? I don't want to deal with this right now. How did you know I was here anyway," Emery snapped.

"I should be asking you that," Evan could tell his daughter was angry.

"I work here," Emery moved her attention to the floor again feeling ashamed for saying that.

"Well," Evan began but Carol walked in.

"Hey sweetheart," Carol smiled big and kissed Evan. Emery stepped back and covered her mouth. She was just shocked and weirded out by this, Carol and her dad? "Hey Emery this is my boyfriend, Evan," Carol had no idea about Emery's past because Emery never told her. Carol figured that she didn't want to talk about it. Emery nodded.

"I'm going to go. I'll be back tomorrow maybe," Emery hurried out of the house trying to fight back the tears that were waiting to come down. Evan went after her. He grabbed her arm and turned her around. "No let me go!" she yelled and pulled her arm out of her father's grip. "Don't touch me!" she shook her head. "Is this a joke! This is where you have been for the past three years? In this fuckin' mansion while my mom and I struggled to keep that shitty apartment!"

"Sweetheart lower your voice," Evan insisted since he noticed the neighbors were staring at them. He tried to smile at them so they could leave but that didn't work they just kept staring.

"I hate you," Emery tightened her jaw and took out her keys from her pocket. Evan tried grabbing her arm again to calm her down. "No," Emery pushed him away. "Don't even try to make it seem like you were a good father! You never came back when mom needed you. I was only 5, dad! You didn't even fuckin' bother to come back! I hate you!" Emery opened the car door and got in. She started the ignition and drove off leaving tire marks on the cement. Evan watched his daughter drive off. Evan thought back to the night he left her.

After her 5th birthday party he was packing his things while Loren tried to convince him to stay. He felt like it was just wrong for him to stay. He couldn't handle it anymore. He had walked into Emery's room and kissed her forehead. Emery didn't even stir in her bed. She still had on the make-up she was playing with earlier. He touched her cheek lightly. Jay had stayed over and was sleeping on the floor. He smiled and felt horrible leaving Emery, the only person that kept him there for as long as he stayed. He headed to the door and looked back at Emery. Jay had opened his eyes slowly just in time to see Emery's dad leave. Just like that Evan had left. Now someone he cared about was leaving and he was on the opposite side of the table.

: Later that Night/Party at Zephyr Shop :

After the success at Del Mar, Skip decided to throw a party in honor of the Z-Boys. He had invited Stacy, to deliver some great news to him. While he was waiting for Stacy to show the other boys were talking to girls/groupies. They were all over any Z-Boy they could get close to. Skip set up the blender to make drinks. The music was blaring out of the speakers and people were practically yelling over the speakers when they were near them. "Hey Jay is Stacy here yet," Skip slurred as Jay passed by with a plastic cup. Jay shook his head. "Well tell me when he gets here," Skip turned on the blender. Jay nodded and headed outside. He needed to get away from the smoke and the smell of alcohol that filled the shop.

Stacy walked up the steps to Emery's apartment and knocked on the door. Loren rushed to the door and opened it "Em…oh hi Stacy," she tried to sound like she wasn't disappointed to see him.

"Hey Loren is Emery here," Stacy asked noticing the tone of her voice.

"No…she hasn't come back…," Loren glanced down so Stacy wouldn't see the pain in her eyes. Stacy nodded.

"Well I'll go look for her," Stacy said and headed back down the stairs to his car. He got in and took off looking for Emery.

: P.O.P. Pier :

Emery was sitting on top of a broken pillar. She had a pack of beers and had a drunken 3. She tossed the empty bottle aside as she opened another one. She had been crying all day. Nothing in her life was going right, before everything seemed in order. She felt like she had nothing to worry about. Her life was perfect, but now it was just out of her hands and into someone else. And that someone who was controlling her life was the people surrounding her. She felt like they were the puppet masters and making her do and say things she never thought she would do or say. She looked at the ocean and tossed the empty bottle in the pile next to her. She tried to get up but her knees felt weak. She started to laugh when she fell back down on the pillar. "Oh God," she groaned.

Jay had strolled a long the beach and headed to the P.O.P. He noticed a shadow sitting down, he squinted his eyes trying to make it out but couldn't. He jogged closer and still couldn't see.

Emery tried to get up again but fell to her knees. She laughed harder as drank the beer in her hands. She realized that it was empty. "Shit," she shrieked and opened another one.

Jay heard the voice and recognized it. He ran over to her. "Emery, what the hell are you doing," he helped her up.

"Jay, nice to see you," Emery pressed her hand against his face trying to feel his features. "You know I'm like so fuckin' stupid," she laughed as she drank the rest of the beer. She could feel her eyes slowly closing.

"No Emery stay with me," he slapped her cheek lightly trying to keep her awake. "Emery," he noticed that Emery's eyes were shut. "Emery," he felt scared now. This was the first time in his life he actually felt scared. He thought he lost Emery. He put her down and tried tapping her cheek again but nothing. "Shit Emery!" he yelled and could feel tears rolling down his cheeks. In the corner of his eye he could see some headlights pulling up near the pier. "Hey!" he yelled at the car and wanted to run over but didn't want to leave Emery. The owner of the car opened the door and stepped out. "Can you help?" Jay yelled again.

"Jay," Stacy ran over to him. "What's going on," he asked as he noticed all the empty bottles and saw Emery's lifeless body. "Fuck! What happened?" he knelt down and lifted her up.

"I don't know Stacy!" Jay snapped helping Stacy carry Emery to the car. They placed her in the backseat and Jay slid in. Stacy stared at Emery. "Stacy, go to the fuckin' hospital! Now!" Jay demanded he wasn't going to let his friend die. Stacy comprehended what was going on and shook his head. He got into the driver's seat and took off to the hospital. He noticed he was going over the speed limit. Jay didn't know what to do. He just stared down at Emery's lifeless body not sure what procedures to do. "Emery," he whispered and rested his forehead on hers. He started to cry but not loud, he didn't want Stacy to hear him.

Stacy kept his focus on the road but could hear Jay crying. He had never heard Jay cry before. He processed that Jay did care about Emery, a lot. He knew Jay cared about her but he thought just as a friend. When he heard Jay crying, he knew it was much more. Stacy pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. "We're here," he glanced at Jay through the rear view mirror. Jay wiped his tears away quickly and opened the door. Stacy got out and helped Jay carry Emery to the hospital.

A doctor noticed the boys bringing Emery in. She rushed over to them. "Okay what happened," she signaled for one of the nurses to bring a stretcher.

"I just found her like this," Jay told the doctor while his voice cracked from crying. The doctor nodded and the nurse had brought the stretcher. The nurse helped the boys put Emery on it. The doctor checked her pulse.

"Okay that's not a good sign," the doctor nodded at the nurse and they headed to the ER. Jay and Stacy followed her. "I'm sorry boys unless if you're family you can't come with us," the doctor stopped them. "I promise to let you know how she is," the doctor vanished behind the ER doors.

Jay and Stacy sighed and paced back and forth. "Let's go to the waiting room," Stacy suggested. Jay nodded and they went to sit in the waiting room. "I should go call Loren," Stacy said softly before he sat down.

"No I'll go," Jay insisted and went to the front desk to ask to use the phone. The lady nodded and handed him the phone. Jay dialed Loren's number and told her what happened. Then he called his mother to let her know where he was and what happened. Stacy rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. He stared down at the tile following the pattern with his eyes. "She's on her way," Jay sat down next to Stacy and noticed what he was doing.

Two hours had passed and Loren, Philaine, Jay, Stacy, Tony, Sid, Skip, and Evan were sitting in the waiting room. Evan was on the opposite side of the room because he could feel cold stares. Jay was pacing back and forth waiting for the doctor to come back. The doors to the ER room opened and out came the doctor. Jay stopped pacing. The doctor walked into the waiting room, Loren and Evan rushed over to her. "How..How..How is she," Loren asked scared for her daughter's life. The room was silent.

"Well could you follow me," the doctor opened the door for them and they walked outside the waiting room. She closed the door and went to the desk. She was explaining the condition of their daughter. Loren covered her mouth and started to cry. Jay stared at the reaction of Loren and felt his heart drop. Philaine walked over to her son and wrapped her arms around him from behind. Evan tried to comfort Loren but she just pushed him away. Evan tried again.

"No!" Loren yelled and just let the tears run down her cheeks. The waiting room just fell silent, no one spoke. They just waited to hear the news about Emery. Jay bit his lip and shoved his hands into his pockets. He wanted to cry again but couldn't let his shield down to let his closest friends see him cry. He wasn't going to let that happen. No way. Evan headed back to the waiting room to let them know how Emery was. Everyone looked up at Evan. Jay was the only looking down. He didn't want to know. He couldn't.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Well…," Evan began he didn't know how to say it. He had barely even remotely talked to his daughter that day and already he was delivering news about her life at stake. "Emery is in a coma right now. She overdosed on beer and they had to pump her stomach. They say she will most likely come out of it but there is a chance she won't," Evan began getting choked up as he was hearing the words he was speaking.

"It's your fault!" Jay screamed at Evan. "If you hadn't come back Emery would have been fine," he snapped. Philaine tried to hold back her son from doing anything. "She hated you and you knew it but you thought you were okay with her so you came back!" Jay could feel his fist tighten as he glared at Evan. "You left her with nothing. If Loren wasn't there Emery would probably be lost because of what you did! Your daughter would be lost! Why did you have to come back?" Jay's voice cracked and let a few tears escape. Evan felt like someone just stabbed him. The words Jay was speaking were true. His daughter would be lost if it wasn't for Loren.

"You don't understand," Evan tried to explain why he left.

"No, don't fuckin give me that bullshit! You're just an asshole who looked out for himself not taking in the fact that he had a family to take care of," Jay could feel the rage rising in him. Loren walked into the waiting room and walked passed Evan who was just standing there. Loren had calmed down a little but was still in shock.

"Jay," Loren began and wiped her tears away. "I want you to go see Emery before anyone does. I believe she'll listen to you," Loren was speaking as if her daughter was out of the coma. Loren hugged Jay and started to cry. Jay hugged her back. Loren pulled back and sat down next to Philaine. Jay walked past Evan kind of shoving him out of the way. Stacy saw Jay walk past the ER doors. He knew that Jay and Emery had something; he was just in the middle of it.

Jay walked down what seemed like a never ending hall. He peeked inside the other rooms to see people on their knees praying to God and others talking to their loved one. He finally reached Emery's room and pushed open the door leaving it slightly ajar. He walked in and saw Emery just laying there. She didn't flinch or look at him. She was laying there. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down. He reached for her hand and felt it. It was cold. He lifted up to his face and kissed it. He sighed and just closed his eyes. "Emery, wake up," he whispered so no one could hear him. "You're just playing a sick joke," he tried to convince himself she was okay. "How could be so stupid? You're always the reasonable one. You're always the one reminding Tony to wrap it before he goes and well fucks a girl," he grinned trying to see if she would smile or anything. He touched her cheek. "Come on Emery," he begged. He held her hand for a while. He just stared down at her. He felt Emery's hand close slowly. Jay heart began to race thinking Emery was waking up. He shot up. "Emery," she didn't respond. Jay bit his lip and kissed her hand again. Emery's hand lightly squeezed Jay's. Jay's eyes began to water. "Emery you can't leave me remember? Not like this. I love you. Remember God has to come down and take you away from me. Remember? Emery you can't let me face this shit by myself. I can't do it by myself," he began to cry again. "I love you," he whispered. Emery squeezed his hand again with a little more strength this time. "Please just open your eyes. Look at me. I need you right now Emery. Everything is spinning out of control. I need you," he repeated. He didn't want to let her hand go; fearing if he did Emery would just be gone from his life. "I'm not losing you like this. If you die, then I die with you," he confessed. He brought up Emery's hand to his cheek and pressed his palm against her hand. Emery lightly touched his cheek.

"Jay," Emery spoke weakly. She didn't open her eyes. Jay stared down at her waiting for her to open her eyes but nothing yet. She had just spoken. "It hurts," Emery spoke again but this time she slowly opened her eyes. Jay held her hand tightly not wanting to let go. Emery turned to look at him. Jay got lost in her eyes. Emery grinned at him. Jay smiled. Emery wiped away the tears from his cheeks. "Jay," she said again. Jay just stayed still making sure Emery was awake. "I'm fine so stop bawling like a fuckin' baby," she was finally fully awake but her body ached from pain. Jay smiled and let a few tears escape on to her hand.

"I'll be right back," Jay promised and kissed her forehead. He jogged to the waiting room and opened the door. "She's awake," he announced. Loren looked at Jay and ran over to him. She hugged him tightly. Loren didn't have to speak the words, he knew what she meant. "You're welcome," he whispered. Loren nodded and kissed Jay's forehead. She went to Emery's room. Evan had left again. He knew he wasn't meant to be there. Jay sat next to his mom. Philaine couldn't stop smiling at him. She kissed his forehead. He looked around. "Where's Stacy," he asked.

"Outside," Tony answered rubbing his eyes. Jay nodded and headed outside to see Stacy sitting on the sidewalk. He had his chin resting on his knees. Jay walked over and tapped Stacy's back with his shoe. Stacy looked up.

"She's awake," Jay smiled. Stacy grinned and felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders but something was still bothering. Jay knew what it was. He knew that Stacy was feeling jealously and he was just bummed out at the fact that Loren had asked Jay to go see Emery. Jay knew that Stacy was feeling like he wasn't part of Emery's life. He was just there. So he did something that he knew he was going to regret but he felt like it was the right thing to do. "She was asking for you," he lied.

"What," Stacy was taken aback by what Jay said.

"You were the first person she asked about when she woke up," Jay could feel something inside him just beating him repeatedly. Those words were killing him inside. Why did he say them? Why would he let Stacy believe such bullshit? Stacy felt something inside become complete. "Go see her man," Jay put on a fake smile. Stacy nodded and headed inside. Jay looked up at the moon and bit his lip.

_I'm so fuckin' stupid…I can't let her go not like this. She needs me right? I mean I've been there for her longer than Stacy has. She would choose me in an instant, wouldn't she? Wouldn't she find me a more liable person because I've been there for her…I can't lose her. She's supposed to be with me not Stacy. Stacy doesn't know her like I do. I know her. Stacy is just a pawn in this game. _Jay thought to himself. Sid walked outside.

"Jay," Sid spoke as he walked over to Jay. Jay gazed up at the moon.

"You know Sid, Emery used to stare up at the moon and make wishes," Jay smiled thinking back to when they were five. "She and I would sit on the rooftop and close our eyes and make a wish. I know its fuckin retarded but we did it. She would wish for the same thing," Jay closed his eyes.

"Bro…," Sid didn't know what to say. He was seeing his friend fall a part in front of him, piece by piece. Sid didn't know how to stop it.

"I'm going home," Jay sighed. "Tell Emery I'll see her later," he began walking away from the hospital. He knew his apartment was pretty far but didn't care right now. He just wanted to get away. Sid watched Jay leave. Sid slipped his hands into his pockets and headed back inside the hospital.

: Next Day :

Jay was laying in his bed. He hadn't moved since he arrived at his house. He just stayed there still staring at the ceiling trying to figure out what to do. Philaine walked into her son's room and just saw how broken he was. "Baby she's fine," she broke the silence that filled the room. Jay didn't turn to his mom just kept his focus on the ceiling.

"Mom, Emery means nothing to me," Jay felt like he just took a shot to the head. He never meant to say those words but he had to let her go. It would never be. Stacy was there and he knew Stacy was a better boyfriend than he could be.

"Jay,"

"No mom! Hear me, Emery is just a friend! I don't love her! I don't give a fuck anymore!" the words were driving into his heart. They hurt so much.

"Baby, she kept asking for you!" Philaine tried to talk some sense into her son.

"I don't give a shit," he rolled of his bed and picked up his skateboard. "I'm going out," he headed to the door. Philaine chased after him and grabbed his arm; she couldn't have a tight grip because she was kind of weak from working early in the morning. "Jay, go see her," she begged.

"Mom! Stop pushing it please! Emery…she's just…nothing," Jay opened the door and left. He went downstairs and threw down his skateboard. He pushed off and wasn't sure where he was going. He couldn't believe he spoke those words but he knew he had to let her go. He couldn't hold on to the fantasy anymore. He had to fuckin' get over her. He knew she had moved on. He tightened his jaw and went pass the markets on the strip. Emery had meant everything to him for the past 15 years of his life. He loved her and it grew inside him everyday. He ached just to be near her but didn't know why he couldn't.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Emery was still in hospital. She was laying in bed looking out the window. She didn't have the strength to walk around, well according to the doctors. She rested her arms across her stomach and breathed in and out. Loren walked into the room with a coffee for Emery. Emery sat up and took the cup from her mother. She drank some. "Is Jay here yet?" Emery asked. Loren sat in the chair near the bed and shook her head.

"Not yet," Loren smiled. "I'm sure he'll come don't worry," Loren reassured and smiled. Emery smiled back.

"When do I get out of here," Emery put down her coffee on the table next to her. Loren stared at Emery. Emery smiled. "What," she chimed.

"Why did you do it," Loren asked. Emery sighed and shook her head not wanting to answer. "No, baby just tell me. I need to know why," Loren begged and reached for her daughter's hand. Emery moved her hand. "Emery,"

"It's my life, I can do whatever I want," Emery knew that was a stupid answer and hated when people said it because they never meant it.

"Emery,"

"Mom, I don't how to explain what I was feeling. I just felt like too much was coming at me. I couldn't handle it. Everything was falling apart," Emery answered honestly. Loren hugged Emery.

"That's why I'm here. To take some of those hits for you," Loren kissed the top of Emery's head. "I love you and if things get too hard you need to tell me. You can stop working if you want. I won't object. I'll get a job," she looked down at Emery.

"No I can handle it," Emery didn't want her mother working. She had caused enough stress by doing what she did.

: Later :

Emery was out of the hospital by the afternoon. She said she was fine and would never do it again. Her mother vouched for her. So they released her. Emery walked to one of the elementary school yards near by. She knew she would find the Z-Boys there and sure enough they were there. She walked over to them. Stacy was standing on the top part of the concrete that was higher. She walked behind him. "Go," she shouted to scare him. Stacy jumped back and nearly fell she grabbed his hand and smiled. Stacy smiled and threw his arms around her. "Hey," she said kind of laughing.

"Hey," he said and kissed her. "I missed you."

"I know I got the letter," she teased and laughed. Stacy didn't want to let her go.

"I made the team," Stacy announced happily like a little boy getting his first bike. "Skip told me this morning,"

"Wow. So I don't have to spend anymore money on contests for you," she joked and glanced around to look for Jay. "Where's Jay," she asked still smiling.

"Uh…I don't know. Sid went to look for him but he hasn't come back," Stacy noticed that neither Sid nor Jay was around. Emery nodded.

"Well do you want-," Emery began but Stacy looked at his watch.

"I gotta go to work. I'll talk to you later," he quickly kissed her and left on his skateboard. Skip walked over to Emery with a cigarette between his lips.

"Nice to see you are better," Skip smiled and threw the cigarette butt on the concrete and put it out.

"Thanks Skip," Emery smiled. "Where's Jay," she asked thinking that Skip would know. He kept a tab on every Z-Boy. Skip shook his head and shrugged and adjusted his sunglasses from slipping down his nose. "Okay well I'll go look for him," she grinned and headed out of the school yard. Tony saw Emery and skated over to her.

"Hey Em," Tony picked up his skateboard and walked with her.

"Hey Tony. Okay you have to know where Jay is," she insisted. She was kind of scared that no one knew where he was.

"I hate to say it but I don't know," he shrugged. "I haven't seen him all day which is weird. I'll go with you to look for him," Tony was actually being sincere, which was a big shocker. Emery nodded and they headed to the P.O.P. thinking Jay would be there.

Jay was sitting on top of the broken down ticket booth that was held up by semi- broken pillars. He had his skateboard next to him and just stared out into the ocean. He bit his lip and then licked his lips. He felt like there was nothing more for him. He felt like he lost everything he held close to him. "Bro," he heard a voice coming from behind him. "Where the hell have you been," the voice came closer and Jay turned his head to see Tony and Emery.

"I don't want to see you guys right now leave a message after the beep," Jay turned away from them and stood up still staring out into the ocean.

"Like hell. Jay, your mom has been calling to my house asking for you and I don't think she liked the fact that I kept telling her that I didn't know where you were," Tony turned Jay to face him. Emery stood next to Tony.

"You're fucking him know," Jay glared at Emery. "Some advice Tony she isn't that good," Jay was turning into someone else.

"Jay!" Emery exclaimed.

"What Emery afraid of people knowing that I popped your cherry," Jay grinned. "Its okay baby," he touched her cheek. Emery smacked his hand away.

"What the fuck happened to you!" Emery didn't understand why Jay was acting this way.

"Nothing. I'm fine," Jay smiled. "I'm fuckin fine!" he howled. Tony didn't know what got into his friend. He was acting more like an asshole than the Jay Adams they knew.

"Jay!" Emery shouted. Jay looked at her and leaned in closer to her.

"I don't want to talk to whores like you," he whispered to her. He could feel his heart turning cold and bitter. He never thought he would tell Emery that but he just thought it was for the best to push her away than bring her any closer. Emery slapped him. Jay slapped her back. "Don't touch me whore!" he screamed at her. "You're just like your father! You bring people close to you and get what you want then you leave! Is that how you got Tony and Stacy huh?" Emery held her tears in and just stared at Jay. "Thought so! You're just as fucked up as your father!" he shrugged. "Guess like father like daughter"

"Jay shut the fuck up!" Tony yelled.

"Don't stand up for her. I've done it and you get nothing out of it," Jay was just pushing Emery further away. The further he pushed the more he lost himself.

"Fuck you Jay! You can die for all I care! I don't give a shit anymore! I stood by you when you needed me and the one time I don't you turn on me…guess all that you said to me was bullshit," Emery was crying now. Jay stared at her. "Yeah Jay I heard you! How God would have to come down and take you away from me. And how you needed me! I guess that was all bullshit? Well let me tell you the truth! I was going to break up with Stacy 'cause I loved you too much and I couldn't take it anymore. I was going to leave Stacy for you! Now what? Huh?" Jay remained quiet. He didn't need to push her away. He was going to get her, he just fucked up everything. "That's what I thought," she slapped Jay again and walked off crying. Tony shook his head at Jay and followed Emery. Jay stood alone. He didn't need to shut off the world. What he longed for he was going to get. He didn't need to let go of the fantasy, it was going to become a reality. He turned to the ocean and just screamed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

: Later :

Jay slammed his fist against the wooden railing. He had screwed up once again and he was lonely once again. He just kept pushing Emery further and further away when he just wanted to pull her closer to him. He hated himself at that point. He looked down at the water and climbed one the wooden railing. He took off shirt and tossed it to the side. He ran his hands through his hair and stared at the water. He breathed in deep and closed his eyes. He felt a cold hand touch his bare back. He turned around quickly and lost his balance. He grabbed the cold hand and fell back into the water bringing the person with him. He heard screaming and he and the person hit the water. They made a splashing noise. Jay went under the water and swam up as did the person. He wiped his hand over his face to wipe away the salt water. He looked at the person, "Emery," he swam over to her.

"I just wanted to tell you something I didn't want to be dragged into the ocean, Jesus Jay," Emery groaned as she swam out of the water. Jay followed her. Emery finally made it out of the ocean and twisted her hair to drain the water from it. Jay just shook his head letting some of the water fly. His jeans were damp and felt heavy. Emery twisted the ends of her shirt and drained it also.

"What did you want to tell me," Jay chimed hoping Emery would forgive him. Emery rubbed her shoulders since she began to feel cold. Jay bit his lip and wrapped his arms around her. He could smell the salt on her hair. It took him back to when they first attempted to surf. They were both 7 and had brand new surf boards.

"_You're going to kill yourself," Emery held her surfboard tightly as she saw some of the older surfers. The waves seemed so high and she seemed so small._

"_No I'm not," Jay smiled and looked at Emery. _

"_What do you mean? You are, look at the waves," Emery pointed at them. Jay turned to them and knew they were pretty high but he felt confident enough._

"_Trust me," Jay started to get cocky and smirked. Emery shook her head and adjusted her board. It was sliding down so she just lifted it up. "Come on," he headed to the ocean. Emery stayed still and didn't move. "Em," he whined. "I'm not doing this by myself," he stood his ground. Emery had promised to surf with him; he wasn't going to let her back down from this. Emery sighed and walked over to him. _

"_Jay, I don't know," she began. Jay covered her mouth._

"_Trust me. Nothing is going to happen to you or me. I promise. Like my mom says God will have to come down himself and take me," Jay remembered his mother whispering that to him when she was putting him to bed. Emery nodded and smiled._

"_Okay let's go," Emery headed out to the ocean. Jay followed her. They got on their boards and paddled out to where the waves were. _

"_Get ready for it," Jay began watching the waves come. "Get up," they both jumped up quickly and rode the wave. Both kids had a big smile on their face, the older surfers watched the two kids ride the wave. _

"Jay," Emery spoke softly snapping Jay back to reality. "I can't do this anymore," she pulled away from his arms. He couldn't smell the salt anymore and just looked at her. "I keep bringing you in but you keep pushing me away. I don't understand why," Emery shook her head. "I'm trying to give you something but you just don't get it" Jay bit his lip and looked down. "Jay…I'm your best friend and nothing can change that…but I don't think we have anything. I mean we can't get along anymore…I don't understand why…,"

"We can go back to the way it used to be," Jay suggested in a whisper. "Just friends," those two words he didn't want to speak. He didn't want to be friends with Emery. He wanted more.

"Yeah…let's try that," she smiled and hugged him. Jay hugged her back not wanting to let her go. He began to smell the salt again. He loved that. He loved everything about Emery. He never saw any imperfections in her. She was perfect. She pulled away from him. "I'm going to go…I'll talk to you later," she kissed her index finger and pressed it against Jay's lips. She walked away. Jay watched her go.

: Santa Monica :

Santa Monica was the next place in line for where the contest was going to be held. The Z-Boys had been destroying the other contestants at the other contests. This was the 6th contest they had attended and their fans kept growing, from young boys to groupies. They had fallen in love with the Z-Boys and just wanted to be close to them. The Zephyr team was sitting on the sideline as they watched the other skaters go. The other skaters didn't get too much applause. Jay rested his elbows on his knees and ran his fingers through his hair. He started bouncing his leg as he looked around. He spotted Emery and Stacy talking. He just stared at them. He was still bitter about Emery being with Stacy. He wanted to just hurt Stacy, but knew he couldn't. A guy walked over to Jay. Jay felt the guy tower over him and looked up instantly recognizing him. The guy held out a small packet. Jay slipped the guy some cash. The guy counted it and nodded. He walked off. Jay opened the small packet and looked inside. He took out a small pill, it was speed. He swallowed it and closed his eyes. Tony noticed Jay slipping something into his mouth but just blew it off to flirt with some girl. Jay rubbed the back of his neck and waited for his team to be called.

After a guy in a sequence uniform finished the announcer picked up the clipboard. "Jay Adams is up next," he announced. The crowd started to scream. Jay heard his name and got up. He could feel the drugs taking effect but just shook it off. They made him feel good. He went out to the middle and threw down his skateboard. He jumped on but fell off. Emery stood up. Jay shook his head and got up again. He tried again but ended up falling again. "Well it seems Jay is having an off day," the announcer teased. Jay heard the comment and glared at the announcer.

"Fuck you man," he grabbed his crotch and stuck his tongue out. The crowd just went wild thinking it was part of a stunt. Tony turned away from the girl and turned his attention to Jay. The Zephyr team remained quiet. Emery walked over to Jay.

"Come on," she whispered taking his hand.

"No get away!" Jay snapped pulling his hand away from her. "Don't touch me! Whore!" he screamed at her. The crowd went silent.

"Jay," Emery was kind of used to it already. He had been screaming those words at her lately but she couldn't figure out why. She just thought it he was just pissed but this time it seemed different. "Come on," she grabbed his hand again.

"No Emery, don't touch me!" he slapped her. The crowd just was shocked by this. They hadn't seen Jay act this way. The cameras began to flash and knew what their next headline would be, _Jay Adams Hits Friend_. Emery didn't do anything she just picked up Jay's skateboard and helped him to her car. Stacy followed her.

"Em," Stacy touched her shoulder.

"Stacy, not right now," Emery said as she held Jay.

"Yeah dick face!" Jay laughed. Emery shook her head and helped Jay into the car. Stacy watched Emery leave. Emery drove back home glancing over at Jay every once in a while. He seemed dazed out and just stared out the window. He tapped his leg. "So you fucking Peralta," he asked out of nowhere.

"I don't want to talk about it," Emery sighed and she turned to the right.

"Yeah guess whores don't talk business. How much you charge," Jay looked at her and grinned. "I mean I have money," Emery pulled the car over and looked at Jay.

"What's wrong with you," she asked not understanding why her friend was acting this way. Jay laughed.

"Shut up," Jay shook his head.

"Jay, tell me," she begged. Jay glared at her.

"Emery just fuckin' drive," he demanded. Emery shook her head and headed home.

She pulled into the parking lot at the apartment building. Jay opened the door as did Emery. She walked over to him to help him to his apartment. "I don't need your help," he pushed her forcefully out of the way.

"Jay let me help you," she insisted and tried to take his hand.

"No bitch," Jay grabbed her arm and drove his nails into her skin. Emery felt the pain but didn't do anything. "I'll let you know when I want a blow job," he let go of her hand and pushed her out of his way. He headed to his apartment and slammed the door. Emery rubbed her arm and could feel the throbbing pain. She went to her apartment and went to her room. Her mother was asleep on the couch. She didn't want to wake her.

: Later that Night :

Emery was laying in bed reading. She had put a bandage on her arm to cover up the bruises Jay had left. She heard a knock at her door, "Come in," she said as she put down on her book. Jay walked in and closed the door. He seemed kind of more relaxed.

"Hey," he whispered as he sat next to her.

"Hey," Emery felt some what scared of Jay now for some reason. Jay noticed the bandages.

"Did I do that," he asked remembering a little of what happened that day. She nodded and rested her arm against her stomach. "Sorry I didn't mean to," he said and looked at her. "Can I stay here," he asked closing his eyes.

"Yeah," she allowed him to stay fearing of what he might do if she said no. She never thought that she would be scared of Jay. That never crossed her mind. Jay smiled and laid down on the bed. Emery swallowed and got up from the bed. Jay grabbed her hand loosely.

"Lay down next to me," he said not opening his eyes. Emery nodded and laid down next to him. She felt a little uneasy. She just didn't want Jay to explode again. Jay wrapped his arm around her waist; Emery didn't fall asleep right away. So many things were running through her mind. She had to figure out what was wrong with Jay.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

A few weeks had passed and at every competition Jay showed the same behavior. Screaming at the announcer and hitting Emery in front of the crowd. His fans seem to grow bigger instead of smaller. They just thought it was an act since he did it every time. They loved Jay and weren't going to give up on him. The media loved him also; such drama that drove him to be where he was. They bought it and sold it making Jay seem invincible.

Emery walked into the Zephyr shop. Billy Z was at the counter and looked up when the chime rang meaning someone was walking in. "Hey Em what can I do for you?" he looked at her and noticed she had a couple of more bruises on her arms and around her neck. "Fuck! Skip," he shouted and rushed over to her. Emery looked weak but was able to carry herself. "Skip!" he shouted again not sure what to do.

"What the fuck is it?" Skip shouted as he walked in from the back of the store. He saw Emery. "Oh shit," he jogged over to her and looked at the bruises touching them lightly.

"I need to talk to you," Emery managed to say. She moaned a little from pain when Skip touched the bruises. Skip nodded and helped her to the back of the store. He set her down on the couch that was there. He pulled up a stool and sat down. "Jay is getting worse," tears were filling her eyes. "I don't know what to do anymore. I can't talk to him. I can't tell Stacy. My mom is getting worse. I'm starting slip up at my job. Skip I can't handle it," Skip knelt down in front of her.

"Emery, calm down," Skip touched her cheek. He had always been a father figure to Emery ever since her father had left. "Everything will be fine."

"Skip…Jay is changing…I don't know how to stop it…," she let tears escape her eyes down her cheeks. Skip took off his sunglasses and could see how broken she was.

"I'll talk to him," Skip promised. Emery nodded and looked at him. "You're mom will be fine."

"I don't know…she's just looks so…," Emery wiped away the tears.

"Skip!" Jay howled as he walked into the shop. Billy stopped Jay from going to the back. "Oh come on Billy I just need to see Skip," he laughed. "I'm not going to fuck you for the last time!" Jay shoved Billy out of the way. Skip felt Emery's muscles get tense. He shook his head and went to the front.

"Jay boy what can I do for you," he asked being his chippery self.

"Hey Skip," Jay smiled. "Have you seen Emery?" he asked as he looked around the shop.

"No man. She doesn't come by here that often anymore," Skip glanced at Billy. Billy headed to the back. "So you should go try Peralta's or something," he shrugged as he lit a cigarette. Jay took notice to Billy going to the back.

"Yeah," Jay nodded. "Mind if I go see what you're working on," he rushed to the back. Skip ran after him trying to stop him. No one was in the back. "Where's Billy?"

"He left," he sighed out of relief. Jay nodded and headed out of the shop. Skip went outside of the shop and Billy was holding up Emery. Emery seemed to go in and out of consciousness. Skip lifted her head carefully and tapped her cheek. "He's gone," Skip glanced at Billy.

"Man, Emery looks bad. She has more on her hip," Billy pointed to her exposed hip. The bruises were purple and seemed to cover her lower torso. Skip shook his head. "What the hell are we going to do?"

"I don't know…," Skip ran his hand over his face trying to think of something. "Peralta," he spoke. "Let's take her there," they carefully put Emery in Skip's car and headed to Stacy's.

Stacy was about to head out when he saw Skip's car pull in. He stopped in his tracks and waited. Skip got out of the car as did Billy. "Stacy get you ass over here," he yelled as he opened the back door. Emery had her eyes closed. "Emery, wake up," he said. Emery opened her eyes and looked at Skip. Skip carried her out of the car and up the porch. Stacy saw Emery and opened the door quickly. He guided Skip to his room. Skip laid Emery on his bed.

"What the hell happened?" Stacy shrieked as he looked at Emery. Skip didn't want to tell Stacy but he had to.

"Jay," Skip began.

"Jay!" Stacy felt a lot of rage run through him.

"Stacy, she's okay," Skip didn't want Stacy to ruin his big money maker. He knew what Jay did was wrong but he brought in a lot of profits.

"Skip! Look at her! She's fucked up because of Jay! I can't believe I let this happen," Stacy was becoming frantic.

"Stacy it's not your fault," Billy said and looked at Stacy. Stacy rested his eyes on Emery and knelt down next to the bed. "Jay…," Billy began. He knew that Jay brought in money but it wasn't worth Emery's life.

"Just leave!" Stacy glared at them. "You're just a bunch of jackasses, greedy sorry jackasses! You'd rather make sure you're still getting money than making sure Emery is still breathing," Stacy looked at her. Billy grabbed Skip's arm before Skip could say something and left.

Jay skated up to Stacy's house just when Skip's car was leaving. Jay walked up the door and turned the knob since the door was a little ajar. He walked in. "Stacy," he said in a mocking voice. Jay walked into Stacy's room. He saw Emery. Stacy stood up. "There she is. I'll take her home," Jay insisted as he walked over to Emery. Stacy pushed Jay back. "Come on Stac."

"Jay, just go. You're making things harder on everyone. Why don't you just go fuck some girl or something," Stacy glared at Jay. Jay laughed.

"Come on man. You know I love Emery. Don't me so naive Stacy. She doesn't love you, she loves me! She just used you to make me jealous!" Jay slapped Stacy's cheek lightly. Stacy tightened his jaw. "So just move," Jay shoved Stacy out of the way.

"Jay can't you see that you're just a fuckin' screw up. No one wants you. They just feel pity for you," Stacy responded. "Poor Jay Adams, coming from a broken home and has nothing in his life. The only person who cared about him he just pushed away" Stacy looked at him. Jay looked straight at him. "You're nothing Adams. You're just a poor sap. You have nothing. You can't even offer anything," he stared at Jay. Jay stared back at him.

"Jay," Emery muttered as she tried getting up but felt too weak. Jay shoved Stacy out of the way and knelt down next to Emery. Emery touched Jay's cheek lightly.

"Come on. Let's go home," Jay stood up and looked at Stacy. "Take us home or I'll beat the shit out of you and you know I can," he warned. Stacy breathed in deep and grabbed his car keys from the dresser. Jay picked up Emery and carried her out to the car. Stacy opened the backdoor and Jay carefully placed Emery in the backseat. Stacy drove to their apartment building. Jay was sitting in the backseat with Emery. He had placed her head on his lap. He just stared down at the bruises she had. Stacy looked in the rear view mirror and noticed Jay staring at the damage he had done.

"You did that," Stacy said. Jay glanced up at him through the rear view mirror. "You beat her up and you're the one who made her that way." Jay looked down at Emery's torso. He saw the bruises that covered her hip.

"I couldn't…," Jay shook his head in disbelief. Stacy pulled into the parking lot and turned to face Jay.

"You did. Are you proud of yourself? If she dies it'll be your doing," Stacy got out of the car and opened the backseat of the car. He carried Emery out of the car and up to her apartment. Jay stayed in the car shocked at what he had done. "Emery, are you awake," Stacy asked as he carefully put her down.

"Yeah I am," Emery still looked a little dazed out but could focus a little better. She glanced at Stacy. "Where's Jay?" she asked. Stacy shook his head and reached under the mat to get the spare key. He lifted and opened the door only it was already open. Emery tightened her eyes shut trying to adjust. "Mom," she walked into the apartment. Loren was laying down on the couch. "Mom," Emery knelt down in front of her and felt her mother's hand. It was cold. "Mom," she lifted her mother's hand to her face to try to warm her up. "Don't leave me here," she cried and let tears roll down her cheeks onto her mother's hand. "Please."

"Emery," Loren spoke softly. "I can't do this anymore sweetheart," she looked so pale and her eyes were red from crying.

"Yes you can. You promised me," Emery begged. Stacy didn't know what to do. He didn't want to tear Emery away from her mother. Loren coughed into a cloth and blood came out. "Mom, you're going to be okay," she kissed her mother's forehead.

"Baby, I love you," Loren coughed again. Emery tried not to cry to seem strong. "I want you to know that and take care of Jay and Philaine for me. They need your help right now. Baby, you can take care of yourself now."

"No! I can't," Emery cried and squeezed her mother's hand. "I need you, mom. I need you," she begged. Loren pulled Emery closer to her and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Please don't leave me," she cried harder. "You promised… just me and you forever remember?"

"I promise I'll be here for you. I'm not leaving you. This is just a see you later ok baby?" Loren looked at her daughter. She could feel the sickness taking over her body. Her eyes closed and her hand that was holding her daughter's hand became loose.

"Mom," Emery screamed. "Mom! Wake up please," Emery began to cry. Stacy walked over to Emery. He touched her shoulder lightly. "No! She's okay…," Emery insisted. She held on to her mother's hand still.

"Emery," Stacy knelt down next to her and pulled her to him.

"She's still here Stacy," Emery kept insisting. "She said she would never leave me!" she just let herself cry. Stacy pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry," Stacy spoke. Emery tried to resist Stacy's hug but couldn't. She just cried. Stacy rocked her back and forth slowly trying to calm her down.

"She promised! She promised," Emery kept saying over and over. Stacy closed his eyes. He knew how hurt Emery was. She lost the only person that she could confide in. The only person she truly loved. "She can't leave me…I need her," her voice cracked in between words from crying. Stacy didn't speak. He didn't want to say the wrong things at the wrong time. He just let her cry in his arms. He could see that she was falling apart in front of him and the only thing he could do was just hold her. He didn't know how to fix it. The only person that could possibly fix it was Jay.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

_A/n: Okay this chapter I believe is one of the most dramatic ones and the end of chapter 13 ( real tear jerker even made me cry. Sorry guys but I just think it went perfectly. So grab your tissue box and be prepared to cry j/k. Okay anyway well when you read this chapter think of Lifehouse's "Sick Cycle Carousel" in the back of your head. I think is fits perfectly and well it inspired to write this chapter so yeah. Well enough of me talking, here is the next chapter! _

The paramedics came in the apartment and tried to revive Loren. Emery just watched as they tried to bring her mother back to life. She was emotionless. She felt like she cried all her tears and there were no more left in her. Stacy was standing beside her. He just watched the paramedics put Loren's body on a stretcher. A man walked over to Emery. "I'm sorry," he spoke softly. Emery didn't respond. She just watched the stretcher leave. The man followed the others out of the apartment.

"Do you want…," Stacy started to say but Emery cut him off by shaking her head. "Okay well call me," he kissed her forehead and headed out of the apartment closing the door behind him. Emery sighed and dragged herself to her mother's room. She lay down on the bed and breathed in her mother's scent.

Jay was lying down on his bed taking in everything that was happening. He couldn't process it fast enough but it was slowly coming to him.

Emery took the picture of her and her mother from the nightstand. Emery was only 6 and they were at the beach. Her mother and she were posing like they were models. Her mother was wearing an oversized woven hat. Emery was drenching wet but they still smiled. Emery smiled to herself at the memory of that day.

Jay reached for the picture of him and Emery that was taped to the wall. They were at one of Tony's parties. Emery had her arms wrapped around him. Jay had a cup in his hand. They were laughing. Jay smiled at the memory.

Emery put down the picture and walked to the dresser. She carefully lifted her mother's belongings. She carefully placed her mother's favorite earrings into her palm. She glided her finger over them as if they were going to break. She put them back down gently and lifted the bottle of perfume her mother would spray on every morning. She could smell the perfume.

Jay sat up and looked at his shaky hands. He walked over to his dresser and rummaged through a few things until he found what he was looking for. He placed two pills of Quaalude into his palm. He slowly closed it. He looked in the mirror and didn't like what he saw.

Emery put down the perfume bottle and looked at herself in the mirror. She hated what she saw. She tightened her jaw and slammed her fist against the mirror sending it to what seemed like a million of shattered pieces.

Jay tightened his fist and slammed it against the mirror shattering it. He opened his fist to see nothing but pill dust in his hand. He then grabbed the lamp that rested on his dresser and threw it against the wall.

Emery began crying again. She knocked everything off the dresser sending everything flying all over the floor. She grabbed the perfume bottle and threw it at the wall. She began knocking things over.

Jay grabbed his surfboard and slammed it against the floor making a crack in the middle. He kept banging it until it was broken in half.

Emery went to her mother's closet and began to throw clothes everywhere. "You promised!" she kept yelling.

Jay began to just tear his room apart. Tearing down posters he had up and throwing things against the wall. His room was destroyed.

Emery looked around at the damage she had done. She fell to her knees. She covered her face and cried harder.

Jay went to the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. He grabbed the razor that was near by. He stared at the person in front of him. He didn't recognize him. He began to shave off his hair.

Emery tried to pick herself up but just kept falling down. She felt weak and hopeless. "You promised," she whispered and leaned forward putting her forehead on her knees. She couldn't do this by herself.

Jay didn't care at that moment. He felt like he lost everything. Nothing was there for him anymore. He had nothing. He couldn't offer anything. He couldn't get a hold of his life anymore.

Emery felt the warm tears roll down her cheeks. Everything that she held so close to her was taken away. Her mother was dead. Jay abandoned her. She crawled into a corner of the room and rested her back against the wall. She brought up her knees to her chin.

Jay looked at himself. He had cut off his past and now he was supposed to be a new person. Although a piece of him was still missing.

Emery rocked herself back and forth.

Jay gripped the sink tightly.

Emery closed her eyes tight.

Jay shut his eyes tight.

Emery just screamed. Jay screamed. They were apart from each other but they could some how feel each other's pain. They knew exactly how the other was feeling. They needed each other. They knew the other was the only that could save them but they couldn't get to each other. They both had lost each other.

Emery opened her eyes slowly.

Jay opened his eyes slowly.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

: Next Day :

Emery and her father, Evan, were sitting in an office at a local funeral home. Emery had her arms over her stomach. Evan ran his fingers over his chin. He didn't know what to do with Emery. She wouldn't talk to him or tell him what happened the day before. "Are you going to tell me where you got those bruises?" he asked as he touched her neck lightly. Emery smacked his hand away and looked at the flowers in the middle of the table. They were in a crystal vase and they seemed to have so much life in them. Emery let out a laugh at the irony of that. "Em," Evan turned to her. Emery turned to him. "I'm trying here," he sighed.

"Keep up the awesome job champ," Emery said sarcastically and grinned at him. Evan sighed and looked down at the table.

"Can't you just forgive me?" Evan begged. Emery let out a laugh and looked at him.

"Forgive you? Oh that's original," Emery rolled her eyes. Evan glanced at the vase and let out a small laugh at the irony of the live flowers in a funeral home. Emery heard her dad laugh. She knew she was so much like him but wasn't going to forgive him. A small old man walked in with a big binder.

"Hello folks," the old man said as he sat down in the chair across from them. "I'm sorry about your loved one's passing. Terrible," the old man shook his head.

"I watched her die," Emery spoke softly in a whisper. Evan took his daughter's hand and squeezed it a little meaning _'Don't speak'._ Emery felt her father squeeze her hand and looked down. The old man didn't quite hear what Emery said but knew it wasn't something her father wanted to let anyone hear.

"Okay well let's start shall we?" the old man grinned at them.

"Yeah let's," Evan nodded and grinned back. Emery watched the old man open the binder. There were pictures of coffins. Emery shot up from the chair knocking it down and ran out of the room.

"Um…," the old man looked at Evan.

"I'm sorry. I thought she could handle this but…I guess not," Evan stood up. The old man stood up. "Can you just give me a minute," the old man nodded. Evan walked out of the room and saw Emery standing outside the room with her face buried in her hands. Evan walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Sweetheart," he spoke softly.

"It's not fair…I should have been the one to die not her! She had so much more to live for than I have," Emery screamed. Evan shook his head and pulled her into his arms.

"Baby, it's okay," Evan said. "Shh…it's okay," he tried to calm her down. Emery didn't pull away from her father's embrace. She felt comfortable. "I'll finish the arrangements if you want," he said looking down at her. Emery shook her head.

"I have to do this…I know what she likes," Emery kind of smiled. Evan saw her small smile and it made him smile.

"She always hated pink," Evan said lightening the moment. Emery smiled bigger. "Let's go back in," Evan headed back into the room. Emery followed her father inside. The old man looked up at them. "Okay," he sat back down as did Emery.

"All right well let's get started," the old man looked at Emery. Emery nodded in agreement.

: Later :

Evan and Emery were sitting outside the Venice Noodle eating. Emery had taken a bite from her burger and looked around. She felt kind of comfortable but yet awkward to be sitting with her father and eating with him like it was a normal thing. Evan took a bit out of a French fry. He looked around also. Emery grabbed her cup and drank some of her soda. Tony skated by them and came to halt when he saw Emery and her father. He skated back and stopped. "Hey Emery," he said.

"Hey Tony," Emery smiled up at him kind of relieved that one of her friends came by. Tony sat down next to her. Evan glanced at Tony then down at his burger. "Oh Tony this is my..." Emery stopped herself.

"I'm Evan, her father," Evan finished for her. Tony nodded.

"I remember you from the hospital," Tony brought up. Evan nodded. "Sorry about your mom," he turned his focus back to Emery. "She was cool."

"Thanks," Emery grinned and looked down. Tony nodded.

"Well I'll check you later," he stood up. "Oh and…try to find Jay…I think he needs you," he squeezed Emery's shoulder lightly and skated off. Evan looked at Emery.

"What's wrong with Jay?" he asked. Emery pushed her tray away from her. "Emery," he spoke wanting to know what happened between them.

"Nothing," Emery shook her head. Evan stared at her. He could tell she was lying. "I should go find him," she stood up. "I'll see you later," she began walking off. Evan ran after her.

"Emery," he said again.

"Dad," she turned to face him. "You're too late," she shrugged.

"What do you mean?" he asked. He didn't understand what his daughter was saying to him.

"You're too late to act like a father!" she broke down. "Everything isn't the same dad if you haven't noticed. You can't come into my life thinking everything will be okay…You were gone for a long time," she directed her eyes to her feet. "You can't save me," she shook her head and walked off. Evan stood there watching his daughter leave. He understood what she meant now. He had missed too much but he still could try to be a father to her. Couldn't he?

Emery kept walking along the strip looking around for Jay but she couldn't find him. It had already turned dark and the streetlights were dim. She crossed her arms over her chest and just kept walking. She could hear behind her foot steps and snickering. She felt her heart race and walked a little faster. She tried to seem like she couldn't hear the sounds but they seemed to get louder. She kept her focus forward. The snickering got louder and they were right behind her. "Hey baby," one of the figures spoke. Emery just ignored them and kept walking. "Come on baby I won't bite," they laughed. Emery just kept walking. Finally one of the figures grabbed her and put her up against the wall. He began touching her thigh and worked his way up. Emery shut her eyes.

"Yo' man, don't do that," one of the figures spoke.

"I want to have a little fun," the guy smiled at Emery and kissed her neck. The other figure pushed the guy off of Emery.

"Don't fuck with me!" the figure screamed. Emery couldn't quite make out her hero but the voice sounded familiar.

"Fuck you Jay," the guy grabbed his crotch and walked off with the rest of the guys.

"Jay?" Emery looked at the figure. The figure stepped into the light. "Oh my God," Emery looked at his shaved head and the tattoo that ran across his neck. Emery stepped into the light. Jay didn't make eye contact with her just looked around at the dark. "What happened…," she asked still taken aback by his appearance.

"Shit," Jay answered and finally looked at Emery. "I lost myself," he shrugged not sure what to say. Emery just stared at him. "I'm sorry about your mom…I know she meant a lot to you…she meant a lot to me and my mom too," he looked down.

"She wanted me to take care of you," Emery lifted Jay's chin. "I haven't done my job," she felt like crying. She couldn't believe that she and Jay were both lost and hopeless. They had lost all faith.

"I promised I would take care of you," Jay placed his palms on her cheeks. "I'm sorry," he looked her straight in the eye. "I'm sorry," he repeated. Emery nodded and locked eyes with him. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he promised. "I promise okay?"

"Don't promise me," Emery shook her head. "Show me," she pulled him into a hug. Jay wrapped his arms around her. Emery felt safe now. She felt like she didn't have to go through this by herself. She had the one person she needed or at least she thought.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Jay opened the door to his apartment still holding Emery's hand. He kicked a few empty beer cans out of the way. Emery followed him inside. She looked around to see a man passed out on the couch. Philaine passed out on the floor holding a beer can. Jay sighed and let go of Emery's hand. He picked up his mother. "You can stay in my room," he said as he went to Philaine's room to lay her down on the bed. Emery went to Jay's room and looked around at the mess. She lifted a few things and tried to put it back in order but it was hopeless. She saw his surf board and picked up a half of it. "Yeah don't touch that," Jay took the piece from her and tossed it in the corner.

"What happened," she asked picking up pieces of broken mirror.

"I really don't want to talk about it," he shook his head and took the pieces of mirror from and dumped them into the trash can. He unbuttoned his shirt leaving him in just his muscle shirt and tossed the shirt on the chair that was there. "So you want to sleep?" Emery nodded. "Well the bed is yours," he walked over to it and threw a couple of things off it. "There all better," he grinned at her. Emery smiled back and sat down on the bed. "I'll be in the living room I guess," he shrugged.

"You can stay you know," she looked at him. Jay looked into her eyes. He felt the piece of him that was missing was put back. He leaned closer to her and touched her cheeks gently. She turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand. Jay felt a rush run through his body when her lips touched him. He leaned closer to her and kissed her lightly. She began to lean back on the bed bringing him down with her. He cupped her face as he deepened the kiss. Emery ran her hand down his back. He lifted his arms and she took off his muscle shirt. She tossed it on the floor. Jay lifted her shirt and she did the same. He tossed her shirt aside and rested his forehead on hers as he glided his fingers over her bruises. "They don't hurt anymore," she said.

"I'm sorry," he glanced up at her.

"Don't be…," she ran her fingertips across his cheek. "They didn't hurt," she admitted. Jay nodded and kissed her again. Emery kissed him back. Through the open window came the sweet sounds of Marvin Gaye's _'Let's Get It On'_ being played on a neighbor's stereo. Jay gave Emery a wicked grin.

"Does this give ya any ideas?" Jay said. Emery laughed.

"You're stupid you know that right?" Emery tapped his cheek a lightly.

"Well that's why you love me right?" Jay grinned and kissed her cheek.

"Oh really? I love you," she lifted her upper torso with her elbows and rested on them.

"Well isn't that how it's supposed to be? You and me?" Jay smiled. "I mean we can make beautiful babies some day and name them weird names like Seven and shit like that," he winked.

"Seven?" Emery kind of laughed and arched an eyebrow.

"I like the number seven and I think it'll be a cool name," he shrugged and smiled. He kissed her again. "I mean what were you thinking? Frances?" he joked.

"No I was thinking we're still young to even think about that," she kissed him back.

"Yeah you're right," he ran his hand down her hip and kissed her. She began to lean back again and he followed her lead. He rubbed her hip for a while until he unbuttoned her jeans and began to slide them down her legs.

: Next Day :

Emery was at her apartment taking a shower and getting dressed. She was staying at Jay's but had still had her clothes at her apartment. Today was her mother's funeral. She had a towel wrapped her around her body as she walked into her room. She opened her closet and sighed. She picked out a black dress. It was the only black dress she had. It went up to her knees and had thin straps. She sighed and closed her eyes. She got dressed quickly and grabbed a pair of heels. She sat down on her bed and sighed. She stared at the heels and just did not want to go through with this. If she went it meant that her mother was actually gone, but she had to go. Her mother would want her to be there. "Emery," Sid called as he walked into her room. "Jay told me to come here and check on you," he looked at her.

"Hey Sid," Emery wiped away the tears from her cheeks. She smiled at him. Sid was wearing a nice buttoned up shirt and jeans. The shirt was untucked but some how Sid still looked like he dressed up. He sat next to her.

"I'm really sorry about your mom," he said softly. Emery nodded.

"It's okay. You were her favorite Z-Boy. Every time you guys came out in the newspaper she would say 'Oh there's baby Sid'," she smiled. Sid let out a small laugh.

"Didn't think I had any fans," he joked. Emery threw her arms around his shoulders.

"Aww Sid, I'm you biggest fan," she kissed his cheek. "You're like my little brother how could I not be your fan?" Sid laughed and looked at Emery.

"Thanks Em," he rolled his eyes. "You're awesome," he hugged her. She hugged him back. "Well um…I'll let you finish getting ready. I'll be in the living room," he got up. Emery nodded.

"Thanks Sid," she smiled. Sid nodded and walked out closing the door behind him. He was walking to the living room but something caught his eye. He walked down the hall to Loren's room. He looked at the destroyed room.

"Damn," he whispered to himself. He started picking up things. He could smell the perfume from the broken bottle. He shook his head and tried to clean up.

"Sid," Emery walked out of her room and to the living room. "Okay," she walked down the hall. "Sid," she walked into her mother's room and saw Sid trying to clean the room. She stood at the door frame.

"Um…," he looked down not sure what to say.

"Don't do that," she walked over to him and took the things he had in his hands and put them on the bed. "I'd rather you not touch anything," she bit her lip as she looked around. Sid put his hands in his pockets.

"My mom…," Sid bit his lip to keep himself from crying. Emery looked up at him. "She had some tumor in her brain…," he shook his head. "The doctors said like they could do something about it but they couldn't. They just lied to my dad's and my face. I wanted to punch them and hit them with my skateboard. I wanted to kill them…," he took a deep breathe. "I couldn't handle it when she died. I was completely fucked up…," he looked at Emery. "I blamed the doctors. I blamed my dad. I blamed God. I blamed everyone except me and my mom. She wasn't ready to die…she shouldn't have died. I mean…my father didn't even care…she died in front of me Em. She was looking straight at me and I couldn't do anything. I just watched her die!" he began to cry. Emery walked over to him and put her arms around him.

"Sid…I'm so sorry," Emery tried to comfort him. Sid cried on her shoulder. He hadn't told anyone about that except for Jay. He felt like he could trust Jay and now he could trust Emery. The other Z-Boys just saw money written all over his face. They kind of really didn't take time to get to know him. "It's okay…I know how you feel," she whispered. Sid just couldn't stop crying. So many memories of his mom were running through his mind.

: Later :

Emery sat in the first pew at the funeral home. Evan was sitting next to her. People walked up to the casket and said a little prayer. They walked over to Emery and Evan. They whispered something to Evan and hugged Emery. "She was a great person", "Truly a wonderful person", "I loved her so much", people would say to Emery. All Emery could do was grin at them and nod her head. Skip walked over to Emery. Emery stood up and hugged Skip.

"How you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm okay," she said and nodded. Skip nodded and kissed her forehead.

"She was an awesome mom and person," Skip was trying to search for the words. Emery nodded.

"Thank you," she said. She could tell Skip never really did this sort of thing so she could tell he was having a hard time. Skip grinned and went to sit down. Chino shook Emery's hand. Emery grinned at him. Chino followed Skip.

"Em…," Billy Z began and looked down. He didn't know what to say. Emery nodded, she knew what he wanted to say. Billy hugged her and went to sit with Skip. Stecyk grinned at Emery.

"She was a cool person. Always supporting the boys," Stecyk hugged Emery. Emery smiled. "I knew I would make you smile," he whispered and went to sit in the back. Emery sat back down and Evan glanced at her.

"Some friends," Emery whispered to him.

"Look kind of old," Evan commented as he glanced at them quickly from the corner of his eye.

"Well they were there for me," she stared at the casket. Evan looked down.

"I have an extra bedroom if you want to come live with me," Evan suggested. "I mean I know that's what your mother would have wanted," he looked at Emery. Emery shrugged. "It's in Santa Monica so you can still come here to visit," he added in.

"I'll think about," Emery answered as Biniak, Peggy, Shogo, Wentzle, and Red Dog piled into the pew behind her. They each touched her shoulder lightly. Red Dog wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Sorry Hot Dog," Red Dog whispered and smiled knowing that Emery hated that nickname but couldn't help but smile. Emery smiled at him.

"Thanks Weenie Dog," she said and got up to hug him. Red Dog smiled at the fact she made her smile. He went to sit down. Evan was kind of taken a back by the friends Emery had made. He hadn't seen these kids before. He knew who Jay was but none of the others. Philaine walked in with Jay. Emery saw them and told her dad to scoot over. He did as he was told. Philaine walked over to Emery and Emery stood up.

"Baby I'm so sorry," Philaine took her into her arms. "Everything will be fine," she started to cry. Emery hugged Philaine back.

"I know," she tried to comfort Philaine the best she could. Philaine was like a second mother to her and she loved her so much. Philaine sat down at the end of the pew. Jay glanced at Emery and sat down next to his mother. Philaine had buried her face in her hands. Emery sat down next to Jay. Jay slowly reached for her hand to hold it even if it was just for a while. Just holding Emery's hand seemed so much to him. Emery noticed and took his hand. She squeezed it gently. Jay lifted her hand up and kissed it.

"Everything is fine now," he spoke and looked at her. Emery nodded. Sid, Tony, and Stacy seemed to be the last ones to arrive. They sat in the pew behind Emery. Stacy glanced over at Emery. Emery looked back at him.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed to her. He had seen Loren die in front of Emery. He knew she was crushed and she didn't really want to be there. Emery nodded. "I love you."

"I love you too," she mouthed back to him. She had no idea why she lied to him. She did love Stacy but it was the kind of love between friends. She cared about Stacy and wanted to make him happy. She feared that she couldn't make him happy. Evan tugged at Emery's arm a little and she turned to him. It was time for her to speak. The priest had showed up and she didn't even notice.

"Would the daughter like to speak now," the priest asked directing his attention to Emery. Emery stood up letting go of Jay's hand and walked up to the microphone. She took a deep breathe and the priest stepped aside.

"Hi, I'm Emery Knox," she could feel the butterflies in her stomach. "As you all know I'm Loren's daughter. She was the best mother anyone could wish for. I loved her dearly and just wanted to give her everything. I know it sounds kind of odd coming from a daughter but she was all I had," she looked around the room and her eyes fell on Jay. "She stayed up with me at night when I was sick or when I just had a bad dream," she smiled and looked down. "She gave up so much just to make sure I had enough but what she didn't know was that she enough for me," she looked up at locked eyes with Stacy. "She was amazing and many of you knew that. She was always strong and never showed weakness. She made everyone feel comfortable," she looked at Evan. "Even the people that might have hurt her she still made room for them in her heart," she sighed and looked down. "I…was there when she died," she could feel tears forming in her eyes. "She said that she loved me and just thought I could do this on my own," she swallowed. "She wanted the best for me nothing less," she shrugged and felt tears roll down her cheeks. "She died in front of me…one of the worst things she ever did to me and I hated her for it. But I look back now and realized that…she never let me down or anything. She was just a beautiful person," she wiped away tears. "I'm sorry," she ran out of the room. Evan stood up but Stacy ran after her. Jay watched Stacy go after Emery. He looked at his friends and they nodded in agreement. Jay didn't have to say anything they could just read his mind. They all piled out of the pew and walked outside. Emery was sitting on the bench outside the room; Stacy was sitting next to her with his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey Em," Jay knelt down in front of her. The rest of the boys surrounded her. Emery looked at her friends.

"We kind of have to stick with you. You're a cool friend," Biniak joked and smiled. Emery smiled and let out a small laugh.

"Yeah I mean you are kind of like an unofficial member of this little team," Peggy pointed out.

"Okay this is really cheesy," Red Dog cracked a smile. They all started to laugh.

"Thanks guys," Emery smiled at them.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Emery unlocked the door to her apartment. "Make yourself at home," she sighed as she pushed open the door. Evan walked in and looked around remembering things that had happened in that apartment. He closed the door behind him. "Are you hungry or something?" Emery asked and looked at him. Evan shook his head.

"I'm good," he nodded and grinned. Emery nodded and went to her room to change out of her dress. Evan sat down on the couch and looked around taking in the scenery of the room. His glance fell on the coffee table which had letters that were unopened. He lifted them up and leafed through them. They were bills from the light company and the phone company. He sighed silently as he tossed them back on the coffee table. Emery walked back into the living room. She was wearing sweatpants and a white tank top. She sat down Indian style next to her dad. "Are you going to pay those?"

"Yeah of course," she shrugged as she glanced at the coffee table.

"Emery, why don't you come live with me? I mean this place…," Evan looked down at the carpet.

"Is my home," she finished. "I grew up here. I love this place," she looked down at the carpet. It definitely needed to be cleaned or something.

"Yeah I know but you're mother…wouldn't want you to stay here," Evan shook his head.

"You don't know what mom would've wanted for me so don't act like you know," she looked at her father from the corner of her eye.

"But I know you're mother and I know she would want you to be safe and have a deceit place to live and not worry about paying bills," he scratched his head and looked at Emery. "I care about you a lot and I just want you to be safe and go to school at a nice place. I mean have you even been going to school?"

"I haven't gone in a while…but it's already going to end and plus I can graduate already. I don't need anymore classes," Emery pointed out and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Well then you can go to college," he suggested.

"Dad, don't even start. I really prefer not to talk about this with you," Emery shook her head in disbelief that her father was trying to get on her good grace. "Do you really think I'm just going to forget everything you put mom and me through? Honestly do you? If you do you are way more stupid than I thought," There was a knock on the door. Emery got up to answer it.

"Thought you might be hungry," Stacy grinned and held up a bag of a food. Emery smiled.

"Come in," she moved aside to let him in. Stacy walked in and saw Evan. Evan stood up.

"I'm Emery's father," Evan extended his hand. Stacy put down the food on the coffee table and shook his hand.

"I'm Stacy," he grinned. Emery closed the door and looked at Evan.

"Well I was just on my way out. Call me if you need something," Evan kissed Emery's forehead and headed to the door. "Nice meeting you Stacy," he grinned at him and nodded. He opened the door and left. Emery rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"So that's your dad," Stacy said and sat on floor leaning his back against the couch so he could be closer to the coffee table. Emery nodded and sat next to him. She began taking out the food from the bag. "I brought burgers and fries. Didn't know what else to bring," he stated as she took out the food. Emery smiled.

"It's fine," she got up and went to the kitchen. She brought back two Cokes. She handed one to Stacy and placed the other on the table. She sat back down. They began eating.

"So how are you holding up?" Stacy asked as he shoved a fry into his mouth.

"I'm good," Emery nodded as she took a bite from her burger. "Thanks for the food," she said after she swallowed the bite she took.

"Your welcome," Stacy smiled and looked at Emery. Emery smiled back. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure go ahead," Emery popped a fry into her mouth.

"Do you still want to be with me?" he asked honestly. Emery froze and looked at him.

"What?" she was felt like she had been caught. Stacy looked down trying to figure out what to say. "Stacy," she reached for his hand.

"Do you feel the same way for me as you do for Jay?" he finally just said flat out. Emery knew Stacy could feel something was going on between Jay and her. She didn't know what to say. She could either lie to Stacy or tell him the truth. "I know you and Jay have been best friends for a long time…I mean I don't know…I just need to know…cause I…," he glanced up at her. Emery swallowed hard. She could tell Stacy was crushed.

"Jay…he means a lot to me….and he's my best friend…but," Emery did the only thing she could do. "You're my boyfriend," she touched his cheek. It was eating her inside. "And I want to be with you," she tightened her jaw. She kissed him lightly. Stacy kissed her back. "I love you," she rested her forehead on his.

"I love you too," he closed his eyes taking in her words. He felt like she was speaking the truth to him. He had laid his feelings out on the table and she seemed to feel the same way.

: Next Day :

Emery sat patiently on the couch at her father's house. He had some how convinced her to come over and at least see the house. Emery glanced around. Everything looked so fragile. There were paintings on the walls. There were vases that looked like they were made of crystal. There was even a fire place. Emery was never accustomed to this lifestyle. She was so used to her apartment or Jay's apartment, always so simple. A couch, a radio, and television were all that were in the living room at her apartment. Her father finally had hung up the phone in the kitchen and walked into the living room. He sat on the opposite end of the couch from Emery. "Nice house," Emery commented.

"Thanks I put a lot of time into planning it. I made a bedroom for you," Evan added in. Emery nodded.

"Thanks," she said.

"My mother is coming over," Evan glanced at Emery. Emery glanced at him.

"Grandma Reese?" Emery asked. Evan nodded. "Right now?" He nodded again. "So does that mean I have to dress like I'm in mourning?" she asked sarcastically pointing to her wardrobe which was jeans and a halter top. Grandma Reese was great but she was so overbearing. Always in everyone's business and always wanted everything to be perfect.

"Emery," Evan shook his head.

"I'm kidding," Emery said. "Do I have to stay here?"

"Well yeah. She wants to see you," Evan said and looked down. Emery sighed.

"Fine whatever," Emery leaned back into the couch and slouched. The door bell rang. Evan went to answer it.

"Hi mom," he said and smiled as he kissed his mother's cheek. Emery turned her head slightly to look towards the door. She sighed and stood up.

"Hi son, where is she?" Reese rushed in through the door dropping her bag. She hurried over to Emery and took her into her arms. "Baby I'm so sorry," Emery was trying not to inhale the fur from her grandmother's coat.

"I'm fine grandma," Emery managed to say. Reese loosened her grip and Emery pulled away only slightly. Reese smiled at Emery.

"You are so beautiful. Just like your mother and your father," Reese kissed her forehead. Evan finally walked into the living room with his mother's bag. He set it down on one of the chairs. "So tell me the truth, are you okay?" Reese asked holding on to Emery's hands as they sat down on the couch.

"Living day by day and feeling better each day," Emery put on a smile.

"That's good. Well I'll being staying for a week to watch over you then I'm off to New York but if you need me call me," Reese stated shaking her finger. Emery nodded and smiled.

"Thanks grandma," she hugged her. Reese hugged her back.

:Later:

Emery was sitting outside around the edge of the pool letting her feet dangle in the now filled pool. She looked down at the water. She heard the dogs barking next door so she looked up to see Sid crossing over. "Sid," she got up and walked over to him. She was trying to help him but he lost his balance and ended up falling on Emery. "Sid," she groaned out of breath.

"Sorry Em," Sid rolled off of her and helped her up.

"Yeah," she dusted off her clothes. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I live in the neighborhood and Jay told me you were here so I came to…," he paused and thought. "Not to rescue you but just to spend time with you," he smirked. Emery smiled and pushed him lightly. She went back to sit down and put her feet back into the water. Sid shrugged and did the same thing. "So this is your dad's house?" he asked.

"Yeah pretty fancy eh?" she grinned at him. Sid looked around and nodded. "So what are you really doing here?" Sid looked down at the water. "Sid," her smile began to fade.

"Em…," Sid began. "I need to ask you something," he was kind of serious.

"Okay shoot," Emery shrugged and began to move her feet in the water.

"Do you just see me as a little brother," he asked.

"Yeah. Why," Emery turned to him.

"Nothing more?" he asked looking down.

"Sid what's this about?" Emery arched an eyebrow. Sid bit his lip and took a deep breath.

"Last night I had this dream," Sid began.

"Okay…go on," Emery said trying to figure out where this was going.

"Well you were in it but…it was kind of like one of those," Sid made a face like _'Whoa'._

"Those?" Emery kind of smiled.

"Those…," Sid didn't want to say it because he was already embarrassed. "Freak nasty dreams. Exotic dreams. Porn dreams. Sex dreams," he finally blurted. Emery began to laugh. "Em," he began to blush.

"Oh my God, Sid. That's just funny," Emery couldn't stop laughing.

"Okay enough," he looked down. "Do you know how hard it was for me?" Emery laughed harder.

"Sid, do me a favor and never say the word _'hard'_ again," Emery tried to stop laughing. She turned to him. "I think it's flattering, I guess," she shrugged calming down from the laughing. "Thanks Sid you just made my day," she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Sid grinned and blushed. Emery picked up her feet out of the pool and sat Indian style.

"Yeah okay," Sid nodded and got up. "I'll check on you later," he smiled.

"Okay sweet dreams," she winked at him. Sid shook his head and threw her the finger while he was leaving. Emery threw it back at him. Sid smiled and left.


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait for an update. I ran into a bit of a writer's block. Well here is Chapter 18 ( I hope you guys like it )and I need your opinions on what you think should happen. So when you scroll down and click on the Submit Review, please let me know what you think should happen. Also I went ahead and edited the earlier chapters, because I noticed I had some typos so I tried to fix them. I reworded some things, but I don't think there is a need for you to go reread them unless you would like to. Well enough blabbing on with story. Thanks to all the readers and reviewers, you all are awesome!_

**Chapter 18**

Emery was sitting at the beach with Jay. He ran his hand over his shaved head. She dug her feet into the sand and watched as the waves crashed down. "Um...," she spoke not sure if she was going to say the right words. Jay turned to her. "It's really nice out here," she had nothing else to say and shrugged.

"Yeah it is," Jay agreed. "What are you going to do," he bit his lip not sure if he wanted to know the answer. He feared that Emery would move with her grandmother to New York.

"About," she asked not turning to him.

"Well are going to stay in Venice or are you moving away," he responded quickly almost sounding annoyed.

"I don't know," she turned to him. They locked eyes and tried to read what each other was thinking. "I want to stay but at the same time I want to go to leave and go to college or something." She tore away from his eyes as if she was embarrassed of saying that she wanted to further her school career. Jay let out a small laugh and rested his arms on his knees.

"Are you seriously thinking about college," Jay arched an eyebrow. He wanted to shake that dream from Emery out of her. He didn't want to her to move away from Venice, it hurt him to do it but he felt like he had to in order to keep her with him. "Come on Em. There is nothing to do here in Venice with a college education. I mean look around you. It's a shit hole. You are going to be working at a shitty job with a college degree?"

"Well thanks for your support," she snapped. "Out of everyone I thought you would understand. But as usual I was wrong."

"Emery, take in your reality. This is all you have," he took a handful of sand and let it slowly fall out of his hand. She watched the sand fall from his hand.

"My mom left me everything in her will. She set aside for me some money to go to college," Emery turned back to the ocean. She wanted to punch Jay. How could he just basically tell her to her face that she was going to fail?

"Well you haven't been going to school," Jay pointed out still trying to shake this _'college' _dream out of Emery. He knew she would make it and leave him behind. She would go on with her life and he would be stuck in this shitty one. He couldn't let that happen.

"I can make it up and graduate," she said in her matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Look I don't want to talk about this anymore," she shook her head and stood up. "I don't need discouragement from you. I'm going to do what my mother and _I_ wanted me to do. I want to go to college and get a damn, better job then working as a maid. I'll move to New York and raise a family. Who knows? But I won't be stuck here in this shit hole and watch my life pass me by." Jay shot up.

"What the hell is that suppose to me," he stood close to her face, glaring at her.

"It means you are stuck here and have nothing! You just want to bring me down with you. I'm not stupid! You want me to stay here and rot with you. I'm not going to let that happen. I can't. I want so much more in life. I'm going to make something of myself and I suggest you get your shit together and try to also," she began walking away from Jay. She was walking away from her past. She loved Jay but she feared that he was just hurting her. He was restraining her from doing anything with her life. She had to take care of him. She wasn't going to anymore, she couldn't afford to throw her life away to make sure Jay still had one.

"Emery," Jay shouted hoping she would turn back. She kept walking and crossed her arms over her stomach. "Em," he watched her walk away. He wanted to tell her that he was planning to actually do something with his life and quit being a junkie. He wanted to quit that part of him and start anew but with her. He needed her. She was what kept him going.

: Later :

Emery was walking home. She was staying at her apartment until she cleared her head and figured out what to do. The moon was now the only light. She finally made it to her apartment. "You are supposed to have the damn money," a raspy voice spoke from the shadows. Emery turned to see who it was. She couldn't make it out but knew it was two men.

"I'm trying to get it together," the other figure spoke. Emery knew what was happening and she tried to hurry to her apartment.

"Hey," the raspy voice yelled. She knew he saw her. She quickened her speed but she could hear footsteps right behind her. "Turn the fuck around bitch." She obeyed and turned around.

"I didn't hear anything," she quickly said practically begging for her life. The other figure remained in the shadows.

"Don't lie to me," the raspy voice yelled once again. He was towering over her. She looked down and saw that tattoos covered his arms. She couldn't help but stare at the one of Jesus' face. "What the fuck are you looking at," he took step forward. Emery quickly jumped back hoping he would let her go.

"Nothing," she shook her head. The raspy voice nodded and took out a gun. Emery's eyes widened and she slowly stepped back. "I swear to you...,"

"Shut up," the raspy voice pointed the gun to her head. Emery was hoping the other figure would come to her aid but he remained in the shadows. Emery took a deep breath and smacked the hand away from her head and tried to run away. He pulled the trigger not knowing where he shot Emery. Lights from other apartments began to go on. The man ran for it. Emery touched her side and she could see nothing but red covering her hands.

"What the hell was that," a woman yelled walking out of her apartment. Emery fell to her knees and couldn't catch her breath. "Oh my Lord. Frankie, call the ambulance," the woman ran as quickly as her petite feet could go. She was in her night gown and had slippers. She ran over to Emery. "Honey," Emery was slowly falling down but the woman held her. "Can you hear me," the woman said to Emery. "Frankie!" she yelled up the apartment. Other people began to come out.

"They are on their way," the man, who assumingly was Frankie, called out and rushed down the stairs to see the commotion.

"Stay with me," the woman tapped Emery's cheek. Emery's eyes began to feel droopy. She was slowly closing them. "Don't close your eyes sweetheart," the woman said. Philaine stumbled out of her apartment.

"What the hell," she stopped speaking and could feel her heart stop as well when she saw Emery. "Emery!" she made her way through the crowd and knelt down. "Emery!" she took Emery into arms allowing the blood to soak her clothes. "Sweetie, can you hear me," she let the tears roll down her cheeks.

"Phil," Emery finally spoke. The sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Baby you're going to be okay. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you. Not anymore," Phil looked at Emery. Emery couldn't keep her eyes open anymore and just closed them. "Emery!" she screamed. The ambulance finally arrived and took out the stretcher. It was a familiar scene to the other residents but they still watched. They couldn't tear their eyes away. The woman and Frankie stood next to each other as they watched the paramedics put Emery onto the stretcher. Philaine begged them if she could go with them but they just kept telling 'Family only.' The paramedics shut the door. Jay walked over to his mom with a confused face. He saw the blood on the parking lot and figured it was another hit and run.

"Mom," he looked at her. Philaine took her son into her arms and cried harder. She couldn't tell him. She couldn't bring herself into saying that Emery might be dead. "Mom," he repeated and looked at his mother like _'what's going on.'_

: Renaissance Hospital :

It was around 3 in the morning. It had been 4 hours since Emery had entered the hospital. Evan and Reese were waiting in the waiting room. Evan was bouncing his knee violently while he waited for news about how is daughter was doing. None of her friends had showed up yet. Reese wiped tears away from her cheeks with her crumbled up tissue. "She'll be okay," Reese reassured him and nodded. "She is strong," she nodded again. Evan wished he could believe his mother, but for some reason a part of him was telling him that Emery was gone. She hadn't made it. Philaine along with Sid walked into the waiting room.

"How is she," Philaine asked. Her eye were blood shot red, she had been crying and was finally able to restrain herself from crying in front of Evan.

"We don't know," Reese answered her. Sid took a seat across from Evan and Reese. Philaine nodded and sat next to Sid. She didn't know where Jay was. She had broken the news to him and he just took off not believing his mother.

"Do you think Jay will come," Evan glanced at Philaine then back at the swinging doors that had _Emergency Room_ written across it.

"I don't know," she responded clenching her purse trying to fight back the tears. Evan nodded and clasped his hands together as if he was praying. Reese placed her hand over her son's and looked down. She began praying in a whisper.


	19. Chapter 19

_A.N: I finally was able to think of something for chapter 19:) Hope it's good. Thanks to all the reviewers and readers! You all are awesome! Please read and review! Take care! _

**Chapter 19**

Jay had snuck into someone's backyard since he saw that they had an empty pool. He walked over to the pool and walked down the stairs. He threw down his board and began skating. He was skating harder than he had ever before. The wheels seemed to screeching against the walls of the pool. He didn't know how else to let out what he was feeling. The drugs were no longer working for him. The problems he had were still there. He couldn't feel the drugs anymore. "Don't make me call the cops," a voice called out from above. Jay stopped skating and turned to see the person. It was Seth.

"Call them," Jay shrugged and continued skating.

"You are no longer untouchable, Jay Adams," Seth inquired and arched an eyebrow.

"No I still am," Jay said sounding cocky. Seth nodded.

"Why are you here," Seth shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Cause I can do whatever the hell I want to that's why," Jay spat out and stopped. He picked up his skateboard and stared at Seth.

"Could it be cause Emery was shot," Seth shrugged acting like he didn't know anything about it. Jay walked up the stairs out of the pool. "I guess it is," he smirked.

"Why don't you just act like a fuckin human for once," Jay demanded as he sat in one of the lawn chairs.

"I will," Seth answered and sat in the lawn chair that was opposite of Jay. He looked at him. "My dad is the one that is operating on her," he said almost in a whisper. Jay glanced at him quickly and then stared at the empty pool. "Most," he began.

"I don't want to know," Jay shook his head and dropped his skateboard on the ground. He was afraid that Seth would reassure his belief about Emery, that she was dead. "I'd rather find out when I want to," he nodded and began bouncing his leg up and down as if he was nervous.

"Jay, my dad says that most people come out of this **alive**," Seth said against Jay's wishes. Even though he acted heartless towards Jay, he knew that this a serious matter and he didn't feel it was right to poke fun at Jay. Jay leaned back into the chair and stared up into the sky. Seth knew Jay was vulnerable at this point and he'd rather not tempt the beast.

"She wanted to go to college and shit," Jay stated knowing that Seth didn't care. But surprisingly Seth was actually interested in knowing. "She lost her mom and I didn't make it any better for her. I was just watching out for myself and expected her to be there for me. She always had been, so I knew it would be fucked up if she wasn't. She's my backbone and if she dies," Jay paused and shook his head meaning that his life would just crumble down. "I can't make it on my own."

"I'm sorry man," Seth sighed. "You can stay here and skate for as long as you want. My mom is out and my dad won't be back till...," he shrugged. Jay nodded and stood up. He walked over to the empty pool and looked down into it. His body felt numb. He didn't feel any emotions running through him. He knew he should feel sadness or be in tears, but nothing. He just wanted to skate. He wanted to be free from the reality he was living. He wanted to break free. He needed to release everything and he did it the only way he knew how. He wished he could smell the salt on her hair. He bit his lip and threw his skateboard into the pool. Seth headed inside his house.

: Renaissance Hospital :

Evan was still staring at the doors, he was hoping someone would come out and tell him how Emery was. The other Z-Boys had shown up and were waiting to hear something from the doctors. Emery was important to them; they couldn't let her family go through this alone. He couldn't handle it anymore. He stood up and walked out of the waiting room. He went straight to the front desk. "Excuse me," he said to the nurse that was on the phone. She held up her index finger meaning for him to wait a minute. Evan ripped the phone line from the phone and stared at the nurse. "Excuse me," he repeated.

"What do you want," the nurse crossed her arms and glared at Evan. She looked like she was a new nurse since she looked like she barely came out of college.

"I want to know how my daughter is doing, Emery Knox," he tried to remain calm. The nurse sighed and nodded. She got up from her post and went behind the doors to find the doctor. The doctor stepped out a few minutes later and walked over to Evan. "Are you Emery's doctor," Evan asked hoping he was.

"Yes. I'm Doctor Shepard," he extended his hand. Evan didn't acknowledge his hand and just went to straight to the question.

"How is she," he asked. Doctor Shepard put his hand down and sighed. "What," he could feel tears began to swell in his eyes. He knew something wasn't right.

"We operated on her and she came out of it okay. But...," Doctor Shepard looked down. He had to break news to so many other patients but he could never just say it straight out. He could never get the rhythm of it. "She is in a coma and it isn't like last time. There is a chance she won't come out of it," he said.

"A chance? What do you mean a chance," Evan stepped back and could feel his heart beginning to race.

"There is a high percentage chance that she may not come out of it," Doctor Shepard kept beating around the bush.

"High," Evan repeated in a question form.

"75 percent," Doctor Shepard finally said. Evan leaned his back against the desk and nodded. Emery was all he had left, now there was a chance he could lose her? He couldn't let it happen. "You can see her if you'd like," he tried to keep his tone soft and hopeful. Evan nodded and walked back to the waiting room. Everyone in the room looked up at Evan. He stared at the floor. He was trying to picture his life without his daughter. He hadn't seen her in three years but it didn't mean he stopped loving her or thinking about her.

"Evan," Reese spoke crumbling up the new tissue she had in her hand.

"She's okay," he stated and could sense a relief throughout the room. "But she is in a coma and there is a high chance that she won't wake up," Evan just said flat out. He hadn't fully processed it, but he had to let the others know. The tension came back into the room. Philaine began to cry and Peggy tried to comfort her.

"Can we see her," Stacy asked looking up at Evan. Evan looked straight back at him.

"The doctor said I could go but I don't know...," Evan began to trail off. The rest of his words just seemed like gibberish to everyone. He just wanted to go see Emery, but at the same time he refused to go. If he went it would mean everything was real. His body didn't move from where he was standing.

"Well you should go," Reese looked at her son. Evan just nodded and told his body to move and left the room. It seemed like he didn't have control over his body and thoughts anymore. Something else had consumed him. He followed the doctor into Emery's room. He slowly walked in as if he was walking into a church. He saw Emery lying on the bed. She seemed lifeless. She was hooked up to so many machines; Evan stared at them hoping they would help her. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and took Emery's hand.

"Emery," Evan began to speak. "I need you to wake up. Everyone misses you...God," he put his head down. Something he hadn't done in a long time. "Please help Emery come out of this. She has so much to live for and she doesn't deserve this. I don't care what she done in her past; just let her get out of this alive. I promise to help her when she needs my help," he paused realizing what he was doing. He was praying. He had lost his faith a long time ago and believed God was the one to blame for everything that went wrong in his life. But yet God was the only person he could turn to for help. It didn't make sense to him, but Emery was everything to him. She was the only reason he stayed in Venice and didn't move away. "I lied to you, Emery. I didn't lose contact with you after you turned 13. I was scared. I lost my job and was embarrassed of myself. I had to get back on my feet before I could let you see me again," he wiped away the tears that rolled down his cheeks. "I was ashamed of myself. I know your mother struggled but she never showed it. She was always strong for you. I couldn't be strong. I hated myself for that. I wanted to give you everything and I knew I couldn't," he shook his head and clasped his hands together still holding Emery's limp hand. "I need you to be strong," he kissed her hand. "I need you to come out of this. You haven't graduated high school and you have been through so much. I admire you," he gently put her hand down and touched her forehead. "I love you. Your grandmother loves you. Your friends love you," he stood up and kissed her forehead. "Wake up," he whispered to her. He sat back down and leaned back into the chair. He could feel the warm tears streaming from his eyes. He sighed and closed his eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: Oh my goodness, it's been forever since I've updated this story. I've been having family issues and school issues just bah! Well hopefully I'll be back and finish this story up. **Color Outside the Lines** will be updated as well. I would like to thank all the reviewers and readers who have stuck by me. You guys are awesome!_

**Chapter 20**

Evan gently opened his eyes trying to adjust them to the sunlight in the room. He could hear feet shuffling in the hallway. He squinted his eyes a little to see if anyone was in the room. Jay was sitting on the opposite side of the bed staring at Emery. Evan couldn't help but observe Jay. Jay's eyes were droopy but yet he insisted on staying awake to look over Emery. He was holding her hand and it almost looked like he was praying. It seemed everyone was finding their faith in this time of need. Jay glanced at Evan and saw that he was awake. Jay stood up and kissed Emery's forehead. "You don't have to go," Evan quickly said groggily. "I know she would want you here."

"Yeah...," Jay muttered.

"You were the one who helped her get through this the first time and I thank you for it."

"Well I know you weren't there," Jay didn't move from Emery's side.

"She's my daughter and I have every right to be here," Evan didn't need any of Jay's backtalk.

"I'm not saying you should leave asshole," Jay murmured the last part and looked down at Emery. "I have to go. I'll be back later," Jay said to Emery but meant for Evan to hear as well. He grabbed his skateboard off the floor and headed out.

"Jay," Evan got up and walked after him. Jay stopped and turned around. "Can you stay here? I need to go take care of something," he lied. He knew Jay just wanted to be alone with Emery to talk to her. They were best friends after all and Evan could tell Jay loved Emery. Despite everything, he was still there for her. Jay was experiencing so many emotions all at the same time, he felt like he was going into overdrive. Jay nodded and walked back into the room. He sat down back in the chair that was by the bed. He took Emery's hand once again and just looked at her. Evan observed the scene from outside before he left to the cafeteria to get some coffee.

Jay watched Emery hoping she would open her eyes. He needed her, he felt like he couldn't exist without her. They had been best friends since as long as he could remember. They had each other's backs and supported one and another. She was the one that made everything make sense to him. When it got fuzzy all he needed was to talk to her and she would help him through it. They had sleepless nights and would talk to each other about anything and everything. Whatever was on their minds, they talked about it. Now Emery could die and he wasn't going to allow that to happen. He felt like he should be the one lying in the bed. He was throwing his life away and Emery had so much more to live for. She wanted to go to college and make something of herself.

He couldn't be sure if they would end up together in the future but he knew that they needed each other. They needed to coexist. It was similar to one play Jay remembered Emery talking about. _Romeo and Juliet _was the name of it. He remembered Emery telling him about it, although he was acting like he wasn't listening but he could remember every word she was saying.

_"Romeo and Juliet," said a 14 year old Emery as she sat on the hood of her mother's car. Jay was going back and forth on his skateboard. They were just lounging around in the parking lot of their apartment building. It was the late afternoon, school was out and they decided not to start their homework just yet. Jay sighed loudly and shook his head._

_"I don't want to hear about it," he whined and concentrated on his skateboard. He was getting tired of Emery talking about what she learned in school, it wasn't like he gave a damn about it. _

_"Just hear me out," Emery protested and crossed her arms. Jay nodded and decided to just hear what she was saying. "Well you see Romeo and Juliet came from families that didn't like each other, which means that they couldn't be together, but they truly loved each other and knew they were meant to be. They believed God cursed them, but in reality God blessed them. Without His help they would have never met and fallen in love. It was a love at first sight type of deal," she told him and shrugged. "Anyway, they knew the only way they could be together was if they ran away or death. Well unfortunately they chose the latter and committed suicide," she looked at him. Jay stopped moving back and forth on his skateboard and gave her a blank expression._

_"You enjoy reading about people killing themselves," Jay arched an eyebrow. _

_"No and you completely missed the point of the entire thing," Emery said in an annoyed tone of voice. "If you really love a person and know you are meant to be with them, you would do anything to be together."_

_"I wouldn't kill myself to be with some chick," Jay let out a small laugh and shook his head. "I would just move on," he said and continued going back and forth on his skateboard._

_"That's cause you don't understand true love," she told him and raised her eyebrows. "If you did understand it then you would understand why they did it," she jumped off the hood of her mother's car. She walked over to Jay and playfully pushed him off his skateboard. She hopped on it and stuck her tongue out at him. "Ha ha," she teased him as she skated around the parking lot._

Now as he looked back, he did understand everything. He knew why Romeo and Juliet killed themselves. They loved each other and were willing to give up anything to be together. Just like Jay was feeling right now, he was willing to give up anything and everything to be with Emery. He was ready to fight for her and make sure she would come out of this. He wouldn't allow himself to leave from that bedside. He squeezed her hand gently hoping there would be some movement on her part, but nothing. It broke him to see her like this. He hated himself. He felt like it was his fault that she got shot, it was his fault that she was in a coma. He blamed himself for everything. He was the screw up; Emery didn't deserve any of this. Her mother was dead; she lost one of the few people that meant everything to her. Maybe all this would make sense one day, but for now there was only thing he was sure about:

He was the Romeo and she was the Juliet.


	21. Chapter 21

_a/n: After two years, I've decided to pick up the pieces to this story and finish it. I was thinking of re-writing this, but I don't think I could re-capture the essence. So I will try to continue where I left off. Thanks to everyone who have been reading this and reviewing. It means a lot! Thanks to Straylight Run for helping me write this. _

**Chapter 21**

Jay's tired eyes were still droopy from spending yet another night at the hospital. A week had passed, but it felt much longer. He couldn't recall all the voices that came in and out of the room, but he had woken up for a brief moment to see Emery's dad praying silently. Jay had only taken a peek from beneath his heavy eyelids. He then continued to sleep, grasping to Emery's hand. This was all he had, just her. She was the reason that his heart was still pumping and the reason why the breath ran through his body. There was no one else out there for him. He was madly in love Emery and he wasn't given the chance to tell her everything he was feeling.

His head cocked to the side of the chair when he felt a tingle in his fingers. "Baby…" he spoke softly and watched Emery still motionless. "You're putting my hand to sleep," he tried to tease, using the humor that was in him to make light of the situation. He opened his mouth and was about to speak the words but instead he inhaled the air. "Please…," he exhaled the word and closed his eyes. His sandy blonde hair fell over his face as he let his head droop further.

Evan poked his head inside the room and saw Jay. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched his motionless daughter. Nothing. There was no movement in here. Nothing had changed since the last time the doctors had seen her. Coiling his fist, he pressed it against his chest and shut his eyes as rested his back against the doorframe. "Something has got to give," he whispered to no one. He could feel his knees shake, bringing him down to a crouching position. Evan could feel his breath begin to get short as images of Emery as a child flooded his mind.

Her smile was so bright and warm. The wave of her tiny hand that fit perfectly in his, like a jigsaw puzzle piece. He couldn't lose her, not like this. Rage had filled his mind but the police had already caught the person. He thanked the lord for that news. But still, revenge was key in this situation wasn't it? He felt a cold hand touch his shoulder and his head snapped up. His heart skipped a bit as he saw who it was. Loren.

Evan quickly blinked a few times. There was no way this could be possible. She was gone. She couldn't be here. Not now. She wasn't real. His heart ached at the thought of her not existing. It just grew ten times its size and was bringing him down. "Loren," the name was thick on his tongue as he let it slip. He slowly rose to his feet and reached out with his hand to touch her cheek.

"Mr. Knox," the voice quickly snapped him back to reality and he was not facing Loren but the nurse that had done routine check-ups on Emery. Evan felt the tears swell up his eyes and dropped his hand. "Mr. Knox," she repeated and squeezed his shoulder to let him know that she was still there.

"Yes?" Evan finally spoke again and lifted his gaze up to meet her eyes for a brief moment. "Umm..go on in. Just don't disturb the boy, please," his voice was faint as he passed by the nurse. He rubbed his face and walked into the nearby restroom, locking the door behind him. He stared at himself in the mirror and could see the change in his face. The spirit was gone. It was at rest with Emery. He turned the faucet on and let the water run a bit before cupping his hands underneath and splashed it in his face.

This wasn't right. Something was terribly wrong. It was like a shock that jolted through his bones. The pain stung. His memory was playing tricks on him. His fists were coiling and all he wanted to do was give up. That was the one thing he saw as his escape. Giving up. Nothing was going to change, was it?

Jay heard the squeak of the nurse's shoes as she paced inside the room. He glanced up and stood up quickly. He breathed in and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up. "How-how is she," he stuttered the question. His throat was parched, when was the last time he had something to drink? He couldn't remember.

"Oh…well she seems to be doing better," the nurse offered a friendly smile to Jay, sounding hopeful. "I think she'll wake up soon. She just needs help…that's all."

Jay nodded his head and noticed the silver cross that was around the nurse's neck, it had sparkled when the light had hit it directly. "You have faith…that she will wake up?" Jay looked at the nurse and raised his eyebrows a bit.

"I do…I do," the nurse wrote down a few notes on the tablet and then took a step back. She studied Jay's face and reached out to touch his hand. "She will," she repeated to him and nodded her head. "Give her a reason to live."

Jay stared down at her hand and stayed quiet for a minute. He swallowed everything that the nurse had just said to him. His eyes were so tired. They burned every time he blinked. Staring down at Emery's body, it hurt him. Not being able to see her smile, it pained him. "A reason," he swallowed the words and clenched his jaw.

"A reason," the nurse repeated and left the room. Jay breathed in and leaned down a bit when he knew he was completely alone. He pressed his warm forehead against her chilled one. It was like fire and ice. He winced at how cold her body was. But he let it pass. A warm breath escaped his lips making a light contact with hers.

"I can't live without you," he whispered to her and crushed his lips against hers. There was no reaction from her. His jaw tightened as he pulled away from her and shut his eyes tightly. "I can't…" he repeated and squeezed her hand tighter. "Wake up…" he begged her and felt the warm tears escape from his eyes. "Emery…" he gripped her hand tighter than before. The blood was pulsating through his veins at such a high speed. He could have sworn that his heart should have given out at this point. "Emery…" he nudged her and felt his body slowly began to break. His bones were no longer stiff. His muscles were unwinding. His heart was still pounding to the point where it hurt him.

He felt something against his hand. His eyes shot open and he lifted his head. Jay's eyes scanned her body looking for something that could have caused that. Her finger twitched against his palm. Jay stared down at her hand. He tried to speak but no words came out. His mouth was open but there was no sound coming out of it. Her finger twitched again and touched his palm. The coldness of her finger sent another chill through his body.

"Em…" the name finally left his lips. He leaned in closer to her and bit down on his lip hard. His lip was no longer the pinkish color it had always been, it was now a pale color. He watched as Emery's eyes slowly fluttered open and her eyes met his. Jay couldn't help but put on the biggest smile his lips could form.

"Hey dude," Emery managed to whisper to him and tried to wiggle her fingers free from his grasp.


End file.
